The Most Unlikely Team
by lone-apprentice
Summary: Ash and Misty team up with Link and a new girl named Fiona to defeat a powerful menace that threatens Fiona's village.
1. The Beginning

1 The Most Unlikely Team  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, nor do I claim to be. This story is totally original, and if any similarities occur between this and another story, it is unintentional (I can't read every fic out there). This story will have sexual acts between people, and you can't read it if you aren't of age, or if it offends you, blah, blah, blah.  
  
Note: This is going to be a Pokemon/Zelda crossover. I believe in the Ash/Misty relationship, and if you don't, don't read this. Most of the story will be told through Ash's point of view, and some will be third person. This first chapter may be confusing, due to its content and the title of the story, but it'll piece it together I promise.  
  
  
  
"Hey, give that back!" I yelled, after Misty who had just stolen my hat for the fifth time this week. "If you can catch me, I will!" Misty yelled back at me, she was already about thirty yards ahead of me, and she wasn't letting up on the gas. I took off running "surely I can catch her" I thought to myself, as I pumped my legs to go faster than her. I was really disappointed in myself after finding out that I could run better at eleven than I can at fourteen. It didn't matter though, I was still gaining on Misty, and soon I would have my hat back, and I would have something of hers to run off with.  
  
"Gotcha!" I said loudly as I caught up with Misty and snatched my hat back. I then grabbed her backpack and took off running in the opposite direction. "Ash, come back here!" Misty screamed at me, but I was going to be stubborn like her, and not comply. Misty seemed to be tired though, so I just ran back to where we were camping, and hid her bag under her sleeping bag. I know it was weak, but hey, I couldn't just throw it in the bushes. "Alright Ash, where is it?" Misty demanded, giving me that look of 'if you don't tell me right now, I'll rip out your heart.' "Well, it's not going to jump out at you, so just look for it." I said, not realizing how stupid that sounded until it left my mouth.  
  
Misty began her search, and I didn't realize that I hid that bag so well. She looked around like mad for that thing until I was starting to feel a bit sorry for her, and I considered getting it for her. I shook that notion off though as she finally began to look around her sleeping bag. She opened up the bag, and bent down to examine the insides of it. When she bent over though, her butt was eye level with me, and I couldn't help but to look at it. No, I'm not perverted, but one just can't help looking if one of the cutest butts they've ever seen was staring at them.  
  
Misty finally emerged, holding her backpack in her hand with a look of triumph on her face. "Well, I see I can't hide anything from you." I said with a hint of sarcasm in my voice. Being the Misty that she always was even at fifteen, she took the smallest joke and treated it like I had just cursed her out. "What do you mean?!' She demanded, grabbing the collar of my shirt, and holding on for dear life. "Come on Misty, I was just joking." Boy, has that line been run in the dirt. "Joking huh, well…okay." She said immediately releasing her death grip and letting me stand up for air. "But," She said, giving me a feeling that this wasn't over, "I still owe you this." With that, she ran at me, and tackled me to the ground.  
  
I bet you all are wondering what's going on right now, so I'll explain. I am fourteen, and that makes Misty fifteen. We've both been roaming around the country like we always have even since Brock left us for the second time. Where's Brock? No one knows, but at last word from him, he was going steady with one of the nurse Joys, and was a happy as he could be. Why do Misty and I wander around still? Well, I guess we don't know. It could be the fact that we're still looking for our Pokemon, or it could be something…else. What do you mean by 'looking for our Pokemon'? Well, about two years ago, Misty and I had all of our Pokemon out of their pokeballs for a break. They were running around like they always do, when a huge beam of light swept the area, and, when out eyes cleared, not one of the Pokemon were left.  
  
Of course at first we thought it to be Team Rocket, but they haven't shown themselves in years, and they still weren't apparently. For about a year, Misty and I cried, looked, fought, looked some more, and finally looked again. But they were just gone. It had appeared that the same was the case all over. Not once since, have we seen a Pokemon, anywhere. Now though, we've finally learned to live with it, and just roll with the punches.  
  
Night befell the land, and Misty and I built up the fire and got out something to cook over it. We decided on hotdogs, so I went to our bag of food, and got them out. I came back, and sat down by Misty and handed her a sharpened stick to stab the weenie with. I was a bit cautious in doing this, because I didn't want her to stab my…never mind. We, cooked, ate, talked about nothing, and finally went to bed. It was usually our custom to look a little for Pokemon that may be wandering about at night, but tonight, we didn't. "Goodnight Misty." I said, as I settled down into my sleeping bag. "Goodnight Ash." She returned.  
  
When morning came, there was a dew on our bags, but we were used to it, and didn't give it much thought. I was first to wake (I'd made some major changes in my maturity, one of which was my early rising in the morning), and after I got dressed, I went to wake Misty. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, and I didn't want to interfere really, but I didn't wake her one morning, and she was very angry about it. So, I decided to avoid her wrath, and wake her. Don't ask why she tells me to wake her in the mornings, because every day, she just tells me to go away, or to let her sleep. I did what I usually did, took her shoulder, and gently shook it. It didn't work (it never does), then, I grabbed her by her wrists, and pulled her up so that she was standing.  
  
She still didn't wake up, she just fell after I let her go. I caught her, and shook her a little. This was really strange, she usually was awake by then. "Misty, wake up!" I said right in her ear, surprising me at how loud I said it. She stayed like that for a few seconds before she suddenly came to and just walked off like she didn't even notice that she was standing. "Good morning Ash, how did you sleep?" Misty asked innocently, as she got dressed for the day. "Great, how about you?" I replied, still kind of shaken by how normal Misty acted when she woke up. "Oh, I slept great. I didn't notice how well you could sleep in a sleeping bag." It was true, last night was slept better than most for me as well. "So where are we going today?" Misty asked, leaning over my shoulder as I looked over our map.  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you, but for today, there will be nothing more than forest on our traveling spree." I said, knowing that Misty would be upset a little by this. She hated the forest, and all of the things that it represented: bugs, weeds, shadowy trees, and all of the weird things wherewith. "Sorry." I said, trying to make it a little better for her. "It's okay, let's just get going so we don't have to stay in these woods any longer than we have to." She said, hiding her disappointment with a cheerful tone of voice. We gathered up our things, and left. We walked along a trail cut out by previous travelers, and in no time we were having a good conversation. Misty would talk some, and I would talk some. We would argue a bit, and there were some aspects that we totally agreed on. There were also quiet moments where we just listened to the sounds of the forest.  
  
I liked those sounds for the most part, but Misty sure didn't. She would cringe at every little noise that we heard that sounded out-of-place, and she was growing more tired of the forest with every step. I felt kind of good being the shoulder that she was clinging to in times of fright for her, but at the same time, I hated that she was afraid. Misty and I were very close friends. A lot of times we argued, but still, we would make it up to each other later. We stopped at a small place that was outlined with large rocks, and decided to take a recess. Luckily there was a nearby river, so Misty and I took that opportunity to get a bath. As nasty as it may sound, we didn't get to bathe much when we were in the forest, and any time we could find a stream, river, spring, or whatever, we would take that opportunity to bathe. I went first, as I needed it more that Misty did. The river was about the right depth, and it wasn't flowing too fast. But the water was COLD.  
  
"This is nice." Misty said to herself, as she lied down on a rock to bask in the sun, and just relax. "I hope Ash doesn't take too long." She had been silently laughing to herself the whole day about their morning. She had been awake ever since Ash had stood her up, but she acted asleep, and Ash was speechless when she just walked off right in front of him. "That was kind of mean I guess, but it was sure funny." She said to herself again, as she began to think of other things. "Ash sure has been nice to me this morning. I guess he just hasn't been agitated enough yet." She thought, as she schemed on stealing something of Ash's and running off with it. About that time, Ash came back from his bath, looking as clean as he could be.  
  
"It's your turn." I said, as I walked around to where Misty was, and sat down by her. Misty had one of those mischievous looks in her eyes, so I said, "What?" She then snatched my hat off of my head, and took off running for the river. "Hey, come back!" I yelled after her, but she was already too far gone. "Damn, and I can't go get it from her while she's bathing. Well, maybe if I'm quiet, I could get my hat, and maybe…" My mind began to think thoughts that it shouldn't and I totally forgot about my hat. "No, I'm not a pervert." I said to myself, as I regained my senses. "On the bright side, she ran off without even a towel, so she can't come back for a while." My mind again started to wander off to bad places before my guilt for her in that situation made me think.  
  
I don't know why I feel so guilty to her in those kinds of situations, but I do, and this wasn't going over well with the guilt portion of my brain. I couldn't even take her anything for the same reason that I couldn't get my hat, and all I could do was hope that she would realize her mistake, and come back before it was too late. A few minuets passed, and I realized that she wasn't coming back. I decided to take her at least a towel so she could wrap herself up until she came back and got some clothes. I grabbed a towel, and went to the river slowly. Nearly there, but still out of sight I called her. "Misty! You left without anything, so I brought you a towel!" "Okay, just come lay it on a rock here." I slowly walked up to the sand by the river, and picked a rock to lay the towel on.  
  
"Where is my hat?" I asked her. "I've got it." She replied. "In the water with you?!" I asked, stunned that she would think to do such a thing. "No, but I've got it hidden, and it you want it back, then you'll either have to wait until I get out, or look for it now." "I think I'll look for it now." I said, as I started to scope the area. I kept my back turned to Misty so she could finish her bath. I searched the bushes, the trees, the ground, and everything in between. There was no sign of my hat. "Are you sure you don't have it with you?" I asked again, giving up on my hat. "Yep, I'm sure," Misty replied in a cheerful voice, "Now just go back to our little spot, and I'll be out in a minuet with your hat." "Okay, I will." I said, as I walked back to where I was.  
  
About five minuets later, Misty came back from the river in her towel carrying my hat. "Thank you Misty, but where was it?" I asked, wanting to know where she had hidden it that I could not find it. "Let me get some clothes, change, and come back, and I'll tell you." Misty said, still keeping her light tone of voice. She walked off into the forest to change, and in no time, she came back out. "Now, finally where was my hat?" I asked for the third time. Even with my high level of toleration for Misty, I was still getting a little tired of waiting. "It was on the other side of the river." I nearly fell down with either the sheer childish simplicity of the situation or maybe Misty's light hearted tone of voice. "The…" I didn't even bother to finish. "Let's just go." I said, as I packed up my things, and after Misty did the same thing, we left.  
  
We walked through more and more of the seemingly endless forest until the sky was dark. We found a small spot on the ground that was surrounded with trees, and was quite clear. After setting our stuff down and eating a bite, we built up a fire and talked for a while. "I wonder what Brock is doing?" Misty said with a far off look to her face. I looked at her for a few seconds, really taking in how cute she was. "I guess he's still living happily ever after with Nurse Joy." I said, beginning to wonder myself about him. "So what about you? What are your plans for the future? I'm sure you don't just want to wander around the country for the rest of your life." This time, Misty's words caught me by surprise, and, now that I thought on it, I didn't really know what I was planning on doing.  
  
"I guess I'll just wait for the right opportunity to be happy, and when it comes, I'll seize it," I said, formulating into words what I was thinking, or at least trying, "What about you?" "Well, I really don't know, but I think I'm waiting on something," When I asked Misty what, she replied, "Well, I guess somebody who will always be there for me. Someone who will always love me no matter what." Once again I looked at her. She was looking forward, into the vast darkness, but I could still see those emerald green eyes. She turned to look at me I guess, and our eyes met. It was actually the first time in a long time that we had looked each other dead in the eyes. For a handful of minuets, all we did was stare at each other. I don't know if she was feeling the same thing, but all I could see was her eyes, and all I could feel was a surge of magic, that never ended for the rest of the night.  
  
"Ash, I…well…never mind." Misty said, just before she went over to her sleeping bag, and settled down for the night. I immediately did the same thing. "Goodnight Misty." I said, trying one last time. "Goodnight Ash…" Misty said, before she fell asleep. I was awake though for a while, wrestling with these new feelings that were invading my head. I had always considered Misty to be one of the most important people in my life, but could this escalate into something more? I mean, we were only fourteen and fifteen. Did I…love her? I didn't even want to think the word. That word had for so long been reserved in my head as a word used between adults, and family. I never even thought it possible to love someone at my age, other than like family or a pet, but it was now a big picture in my head. "But Misty is like family to me." I thought to myself, trying to come to reason with these feelings.  
  
I decided to leave it at that, and try to get some sleep. "I'll find out more in the morning." I said to myself. Even though I slept, my dreams were full of wild, crazy, downright scary things. I was alone in a dark room, when I saw a small light. I soon realized that it wasn't a small light, but I was in a huge area, and the light was just very far off. I suddenly knew that there were razor sharp protrusions on the wall, and if I hit them, I would die. So, either I could find out if the light was bigger and the world around me was just making it look small, or I could play it safe and not chance walking face first into death over a pinhole sized light. Morning. Misty was up before me for a change (very odd), and it was VERY cold. I got up out of my sleeping bag, and walked over by Misty and sat down next to her. She was sitting down on her sleeping bag, bundled into a ball just looking at the remains of the fire.  
  
"Why haven't you started the fire?" I asked her as innocently as I could. She said nothing, but held up our lighter, frozen. "Oh." I said, this would be very bad, now that the winter has decided to set in. "I'm sorry, I should have seen this coming." Misty said, clearly trying to blame herself. I wouldn't have it. "Don't say that, it's not your fault. It was a good temperature when we went to sleep last night, and if anyone should be blamed it would be me. I was the last person to fall asleep." I silently draped my arm around her shoulder to try to warm her up at least a little. Her head fell onto my shoulder, and she fell asleep in an instant. "I wonder how long she's been awake?" I asked myself, suddenly feeling horrible about her being up half the night, cold and worrying about me when I woke up. I bent over and kissed her on the head gently, before laying my own head across hers, and falling asleep too.  
  
***  
  
"What in the hell are all of these creatures?" a young warrior dressed in green asked to himself, as he killed a little rat-like thing with his sword. "I've never seen creatures like this before." The young man took out a pair of glowing boots, and when he placed them on his feet, he dashed off across the land with his sword out, killing hundreds of the creatures as he jetted by them. He stopped suddenly though, because of a huge one of the new creatures, was standing directly in front of him, and it looked as if he was wanting a fight. "Roaaarrrrrrr!!" The red dragon-like thing roared as fire spewed from his mouth. The warrior dodged this though, and was charging for the dragon's throat with his sword in no time. The dragon was smart though, and he launched a ball of fire out of his mouth at the young man with incredible force. The man dressed in green blocked the fireball with a large shield that seemed to be a mirror at the same time. Seeing that the he couldn't win, the dragon took to the sky, and darted off at lightning speed. "That was bad." Was all the man said after the battle with the dragon.  
  
***  
  
"Misty. Misty, wake up." I said to her in a coaxing voice that brought her out of her sleep, and got me a smile for extra credit. "Good morning." Misty said, as she got up and went over to the remains of the fire to attempt to rekindle it. I, meanwhile, was gathering our supplies and sleeping gear, and getting it all ready for travel. "Come on Misty, lets get out of this forest." I said with a smile, as I knew that it would make her happy. She smiled brightly in return, and picked up her portion of the load. "Let's get out of here." She said, still wearing that smile. We both walked off into the dense forest, and were soon on out way to the nearest town. Most of the walk was quiet, mostly due to us and all other things trying to retain their heat. After about an hour or so walk, we stumbled onto the entrance of a city.  
  
This city, Blue City by name, was as large as even Celadon City if not bigger. "Wow, this is great!" Misty exclaimed as she scanned the city with the eyes of a little child in front of a candy store. Not being one to keep her waiting, I lead the way by saying, "After you," And placing my arms out in front of me as if to show something. "Thank you." Misty said, as she walked past me, and in doing so, grabbed my hand, and pulled me level with her. We walked through the city, hand-in-hand, and looked at all of the amazing sights to see. There was one place in particular that both of us said that we'd go to first thing in the morning, and it was the Blue City Mall. This place was humongous. "We'd better get a room to stay the night in." Misty said, as she pulled me over to the nearest Hotel. We went inside, and ordered a room. They put us in room D-19, which happened to be upstairs and directly above the pool.  
  
"This is nice." I said, as I dropped my stuff on the floor, and examined the room. It was a middle class room, but it still had some good accommodations, compared to what Misty and I was used to. It was now about eight-thirty P.M., and we were going to need sleep for the big day tomorrow, so we got showers, and crawled into our beds, and watched T.V. for a little while. It was odd, not Misty or I had mentioned the thing between us list night, and I was starting to wonder if it had been another one of my crazy dreams. But no, it was too real for that. "Ash," Misty said, abruptly bringing me from my dream world, "About last night," Here it was, the moment of truth. Either she was going to totally crush my heart, or she was going to make me the happiest person that ever lived. "Did you feel something between us?" "Yes." Was my answer. "Well, did you like it?" "Yes." "And, if it happened again, what would you do?" Here we go with the questions again.  
  
"I guess I'd embrace it, and hold on to it. I'd keep the feeling with me forever so I'd have something to fall back on in case that moment never occurred again." I said, silently patting myself on the back for my not letting too much out, but at the same time, not retaining anything vital. "Oh." Misty said. Now she's going to keep me hanging. "How about you?" I said, using that same line from last night. "Me? Well, I'd probably try to create more of it, so the feeling would never run out." Misty said, breaking our eye contact, and looking at the ground.  
  
Suddenly my dream came back to me. At first it didn't make sense, but then I got it. Misty was the light, and it was my decision that was either the big room or the sharp wall. I could spill my guts to Misty, and either receive what I wanted in return and go to the big light, or be rejected by her, and walk into the spiked wall. My other option was never saying anything, and while never getting hurt, I would never get happiness. I would always be in that medium, and I would never know her feelings for me. That was certainly not what I wanted. "Misty," I said, building up the courage to say it, "I love you."  
  
For a few minuets that seemed like days to me, she sat there with no expression on her face. I was starting to get scared, when she spoke, "Ash, I know, and I…I love you too." It felt great. It was as if a truckload of bricks had just been removed off of my chest. I wanted to cry for happiness, and at the same time, I wanted to tell the whole word about the good news. Misty loves me! I finally calmed down to where I could look Misty in the eyes without totally flipping out. I regained my calmness, and I went over to her bed and sat down beside her. I took her jaw in my hand, and I kissed her. No, I mean really kissed her. Finally (I was starting to get a bit eager), her tongue broke through her lips, and for the first time, her and I were exploring each other like never before.  
  
I nibbled on her bottom lip slightly, as she traced my gums with her tongue. We kept up that little war for some of the best minuets of my life, before I started to get bolder. I broke the kiss, and started little pecks down her neck, and up her right arm. Her head was tilted back and I was eliciting small moans as I continued my trip down her arm. I backtracked the same route, and before going too far, she said, "Stop." I quickly retreated, not wanting to ruin anything. "Sorry," I said, "I went too far." "No you didn't," Misty said, "but not just yet." She pulled me into a hug, and down onto the bed with her. (No, sick people, this isn't what you think) That night was probably one of the best nights of my life. We slept like two babies, cuddled against each other, and totally unaware of anything but us.  
  
***  
  
"This is weird. These creatures are still around, and my land seems to be slipping away before my eyes." The same young warrior said to himself as he went about seeking guidance from anyone that he could trust. That was the problem though. No one was around. Not even the Princess was to be found. The first thought that had come to the young warrior's mind was Ganon, but no, this didn't look like his work. In some parts of Hyrule, there were vast white spots, that seemed to be holes into nowhere. These holes were growing though, and it was very disturbing for the young warrior. The creatures were everywhere, and he still hadn't figured out how they seemed to be able to control the elements. He had even seen a small yellow rodent send electricity through a bird, and kill it to eat it. Suddenly, the warrior heard singing. It was soft, sweet singing. The kind that puts small children to sleep at night, and the kind that enchants peoples hearts.  
  
***  
  
"Wake up, beautiful." I said to Misty in one of the softest voices I could muster. "Hmm? Oh, good morning Ash." She returned with a smile. "Today's the big shopping day. Let's get ready so we can beat the crowds." I said, letting some logic slip through. We took showers, got dressed in some clean clothes, and left to get breakfast somewhere. We decided on the hotel's restaurant, and ate a delicious meal of eggs, grits, bacon, and some very good biscuits. After finishing our meal and paying for the food, we went directly to the mall. We got there fairly early, like I had wanted to, and there wasn't such a big crowd as there would be around one o'clock in the evening. The stores that were in this mall dwarfed all others by far. It had any type, style, or size of clothes that you could imagine. There were stores totally dedicated to one type of video/DVD. And, the stores that just had stuff overwhelmed us.  
  
Misty and I stayed in that mall for nearly ten hours before we quit shopping due to the sharp pains in our feet and legs. We sat down at the food court to eat dinner, while we looked at our budget. We still had around one thousand dollars left. How did we get such money? Well, even after three years of no income, Misty and my winnings from Pokemon battles were so great that we could live off of them (and live good) for a while. "Ash, my feet hurt. I'm ready to go back to our room." Misty said, rubbing her sore foot. "Here let me do that for you." I said, as I moved my chair around by Misty so I could access her feet. I took her shoes off, and massaged her swollen feet with the precision of a professional. "Oh Ash, that feels so good." Misty said as I rubbed the balls of her feet and kneaded the flesh of her arches. People were staring, but I didn't care. Let them gather around and take pictures for all I cared. I did finally stop though, because my feet were hurting so badly. I know it was selfish, but I can't serve Misty if I can't even concentrate.  
  
We went back to our room, and decided to go through our newly purchased items. We each had around twelve bags each filled to the brim with clothes, supplies, and anything else that caught our eye. "Ash, I've been thinking," Misty said, "Why don't we just find someplace to live, and just settle down there?" I had been thinking the same thing more or less, and I replied with, "Yeah, that would be great, but where? And I really don't want to have to start working for an income." "Maybe we could stay with my sisters, or maybe we could get a small place and fix it up?" Misty said, thinking really hard about it. She has such a cute wrinkle in her forehead when she thinks really hard. "I've got it," I said at last, "My mom would let us stay with her." "Yeah, that's a great idea." Misty said enthusiastically. "Then it's settled? Tomorrow, we'll start back home?" I asked her, wanting to make sure of it before jumping to conclusions. "Yep."  
  
Boy, was that night fun (all sarcasm intended). We had to unpack our loot, separate it into categories, bag it, and get it ready to go home with us. Then there was the risk of breaking your back, when carrying all of it for such a distance. "Well, I think we're set. I've got an idea though. Since Goldenrod City is not too far away, why don't we just go there and take the train to Saffron City? That would be far closer than having to walk from here." Misty said, totally right. "Misty, you amaze me." I said, getting a smile in return. That night too, we slept like nothing before. I guess it's something about having someone that you love so much sleeping in the same bed with you that's just relaxing. I dreamed again that night, and guess what about.  
  
I was in the big room, walking to the light that was getting bigger. I was just about there when I saw Misty in the center of the light. She looked so peaceful as she slept. She was wearing a white nightgown, and had her hair let down (the way I like it). I walked through the light, and suddenly, I saw my Pikachu. It was running to me as fast as it could. I was so happy to see it, that I nearly forgot about Misty until she called my name. I was torn yet again. I could either stay with my love, Misty, or go greet my longtime friend Pikachu. Suddenly, I jumped awake, and in doing so, I woke Misty too. "What is it Ash?" Misty asked me. "Nothing, I just had a bad dream. Go back to sleep." I said, as I lied my head down on the pillow, and thought about the dream.  
  
My other dream like that about Misty had come true in a sense, and if this dream came true, then which choice would I make. On one hand, I would never forsake my Misty, and one of the reasons that her and I were able to be together is because of not having Pokemon to deal with. But on the other hand, Pikachu was always there. Even when Misty, Brock, or whoever else doubted me, there was always Pikachu to count on. Also, if I got Pikachu back, then what's to say that the rest of them wouldn't come back as well? And on the other…oops, ran out of hands. I finally drifted off to sleep, and didn't have another dream for the rest of the night.  
  
Morning finds me asleep like a baby, and Misty leaning over me trying to wake me. "Come on Ash, wake up." She said, as I just rolled over in my sleep. I was up in an instant though, when she planted a kiss on my head. "Well, well, look who decided to get up." Misty said, as I wiped the sleep from my eyes. When through, I leaned up and kissed her in return. For that morning we did the same thing, showered, dressed, ate, packed our things, and left. We found the fastest route to Goldenrod City, and we took it.  
  
***  
  
"What's that singing?" Our same, as of yet, unnamed warrior asked himself as he ventured closer to the singing. The white emptiness of the holes seemed to have a pulling effect on him, and the singing was emitting from there as well. Upon a little closer inspection of the white hole, the voice was definitely in there, and it was certainly female. "What do I do? Jump in, or stay out? If I stay out, I can be sure of my safety from that thing if it turns out to be dangerous, but on second thought, I'm not one to play it safe, and those holes are expanding, so I'm going to have to get in them anyway. So, here goes!" With that, the brave warrior took a step back, and ran for the hole. He jumped into the air directly over the hole, and fell right into it. Blackness. For a place as white as the holes seemed, it sure was black in there. He walked around for a wile, examining things, and all of the time having his sword drawn and his shield out, ready for anything.  
  
"Wait, what's that light?" He asked himself, as he saw a bright light, very far off in the distance. He began to run for the light, and the light indeed grew as he neared it. Upon making it to the light, he saw another land, not unlike that of Hyrule. There was green grass, trees, water, and small villages. He was seeing it from a bird's eye view. "Well, down there's better than up here." He said, as he jumped, once again, into the air. He flew downwards at an incredible speed, but when he landed, it was the softest landing he'd ever had. He got up and walked to where he thought he saw the village. There were people alright, they looked humanoid enough, aside from the slight difference here and there. Every one of them though looked at Him as if he was a purple Stalfos.  
  
Finally, he was gave some form of greeting or another by a young girl, about his age, running out of a hut to him. "I'm Fiona, who are you?" The young girl asked looking at him like he was the aforementioned purple Stalfos. "I have many names." The warrior said, keeping a mellow tone to his voice. "Oh, well, you look just like someone from our legend," Fiona said eying him from head to toe, "The person's name in our legend is the Hero of Time, Link." His bottom jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "This village has made a legend out of me too?" He thought to himself while thinking of an easy way out of this one. "Well, my name is Link, but I'm not familiar with the title 'Hero of Time'" Link lied to Fiona who appeared to buy it for the most part.  
  
"Oh," She started, sounding disappointed. But she soon returned to her cheerful tone, "But I think you're cute, you'll do anyway." "Do for what, exactly?" Link asked a bit apprehensively, seeing as how some people have very odd customs for 'cute' people. Huh? Fiona? Oh yeah, well she needed about three inches to look Link in the eyes. She had lower-neck length blonde hair, BRIGHT blue eyes, a lean figure, and a neat little symbol on her forehead. "Will you stay with us?" Fiona asked Link who was still scanning the area. "Huh? Oh, yeah. That is if it's alright with whoever's in charge around here." "It is, so don't worry." Fiona said with a smile. "How do you know?" Link asked her with slight confusion. "Because I'm the one in charge. I'm the leader of this village, and what I say goes, so don't worry." "Y, You are in charge? How old are you anyway?" Link asked acting like a parental figure of some sort. "Well, I'm about seventeen." Fiona answered. Link then realized that she was only a year behind him in age.  
  
"Where are your parents?" Link asked. "They're dead. And I'm next." Fiona answered, letting her head drop. "What? Dead? What do you mean 'you're next'?" Link asked, starting to get mad at whoever would think to do such a thing to such a peaceful village. But here he was jumping the gun. Of all the death Link had ever known, killing was the only way to reach that point, so naturally he would think the worst. Someone had raided the village and killed Fiona's parents. "Yes, dead," Fiona said, raising her head again, "They came and killed them at age thirty, and I just know they'll come for me too." She said, a single tear falling from her face. "Who are 'they'?" Link asked, wiping the tear off of Fiona's face. "We still don't know what they call themselves, because they never speak. But they live across the sea from us." Fiona finished, looking Link in the eyes.  
  
So Link had another adventure to go on, and another way of life to save. But this time, it wouldn't be so bad, because he had some support, from Fiona at least. "Will you please stay?" Fiona asked Link again, who this time wouldn't refuse. "Sure." He said. "Okay, so now that that's settled, we'll have to introduce you to everyone, and get you properly situated in my palace." Fiona said, thinking of all the things needed to make Link an honorary member of her people. Link's jaw nearly dropped to the ground again after Fiona took him around the last corner. Before him stood a ten- story palace that was adorned with the most detailed painting on the front of it, that Link had ever seen. "So this is your palace?" Link asked Fiona, craning his neck to see the top of it. "Yep." Fiona said proudly, as she took Link inside.  
  
***  
  
End, Chapter one. 


	2. It's Coming together

The Most Unlikely Team: Chapter 2  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story, except for a select few. I am not claiming to own anything to do with these animes, but it would be awesome if I did.  
  
  
  
Note: I'm taking the NC-17 rating off, because I've decided to not make it a lemon. Sorry to get some of you people's hopes up. This chapter is pretty long. A lot happens in it, and well, I could have done three chapters for it all, but I decided not to. And lastly, please mail me any questions, comments, or suggestions. Happy reading!  
  
  
  
"Jeez, Goldenrod sure is a long ways away." Ash complained as he and Misty continued their hike to Goldenrod city. "Yeah, but hey, let's make the best of it." Misty said. "How?" Ash asked, still having that slightly whiney tone. "Well, I don't know, but us complaining isn't going to help." Misty said, showing that even though she had shown her feelings for Ash, he wasn't beyond her criticizing. "Yeah, sorry Misty. I was acting childish." Ash said, kind of sucking up to Misty. They walked through the routes holding hands until they got to the entrance to Goldenrod City. "Hey you! It looks like you've got a lot of stuff there. Why don't you let us have some of it." Some young punks on motorcycles called out to Misty and Ash. They just ignored the biker people, and just walked past them. Before they could get too far, one of the bikers grabbed Misty's arm, and held fast. "I said, hand over your stuff. And since you're being so uncooperative, you can stay with us too, girl." "Let me go!" Misty yelled as the biker pulled her away from Ash, and held on to her.  
  
"Let her go." I said, as I dropped my things, and started walking to the bikers. "Ooh, so we have a little hero. What are you going to do if we just decide to not obey you?" The biker punk taunted me, but I just kept walking. "Then I'll kill you." Was my reply, as I continued walking ever closer to the bikers. I stopped directly in front of the head biker, who was eyelevel with me. I was very tall and built for my age, and I showed it with pride. "You'll kill me? Hahahahaha! You? K, Kill me? What a little comedian. I think we'll let you live kid." The biker said, as he continued his laughing. "Stop laughing!" I yelled, but they didn't comply. I was fed up with them, and I wasn't going to let Misty be in their grasp any longer.  
  
I threw a punch that connected with the leader's face, and caused a small cut on his lip. "Why you little," The leader said as he put Misty aside, and charged me. I skillfully dodged his every attack, and countered with one of my own. I finished him off with a foot to the head, which sent him into a back flip, and landing with a wet thud on the sidewalk. This caused the other four bikers to come at me. Misty was mortified, and I can't say that I wasn't a little frightened about these numbers. All four bikers jumped me at the same time, and I was up to my neck in punches and kicks. I only had two feet and hands against eight, and I wasn't getting along too well. I took what opportunities I could get, and if I was lucky, I would get someone singled out to work on. I beat two like this, and the other two were obviously brothers, because every move one did, the other would complement it.  
  
These two were my demise for the most part. One would hit me, the other would ground me, one would knock me into the air, the other would knock me back down. I was at my wits end. All I was, was a bloody pulp on the ground being beaten more. Misty was screaming for help, but everyone around there knew better, and none would help. I finally gathered enough power to stand, and fight at least a little more. The only thing that was running through my head was Misty. She was the reason for me to live or die now, and no bikers were going to alter that. I gave up a battle cry, as I charged for the pair one last time. I caught one of them in the nose with my fist, and he flew backwards to the ground. This gave me the perfect opportunity to finish the other one. I swung at him, but he was ready, and he dodged my move. About that time, his brother was back on his feet, and aiding him. The process continued.  
  
My vision was blurry, but I still saw him clearly enough. A familiar figure jumped in front of me, and blocked the hit that would have certainly been my end. He took on the two brothers and won in no time, and the last thing I could remember of that was him carrying my away to the hospital.  
  
"Please wake up, Ash." I heard Misty say softly, as I came to. I tried to sit up, only to discover that a few ribs were broken. I was in a hospital room, and had an IV hooked up to my arm. Misty was holding my hand, crying, and someone else was sitting in the corner of the room. I barely recognized him as the person that helped me. "Misty." I said painfully. "Ash! Thank goodness you're awake." Misty said as she made an effort to hug me without hurting me. It did hurt a little, but I would take a lot more pain for her. "This wasn't exactly what I had in mind to do today." I said, to Misty, as she retracted her hug, and cried for happiness.  
  
"What's your story?" I asked the person across the room. "Is that any way to treat an old acquaintance?" The man said, standing up to reveal a face that I knew all too well. "Brock!" I said, "Is it really you?" "Yeah, it's me. I see you're not keeping out of trouble like I told you." Brock said. Just then a Nurse Joy walked into the room, and hugged Brock before checking my injuries. "Is this your Nurse Joy?" Misty asked Brock who replied with a nod. "Yep, she's my Joy!" Brock said, as he pulled her into a kiss. "I'm feeling kind of left out over here." I said to Misty as I did the same with her. "What?! You two? Well I would have never guessed." Brock said with a shocked expression, as he watched Misty and I kiss. "So," I asked Nurse Joy after breaking the kiss with Misty, "How much longer do I have to be in here?" "Well," She started, "The only things wrong with you are a few bruises, cuts, and about three broken ribs. So, I'd say about another two days, and you can leave."  
  
***  
  
"Um, Fiona? I'm not really palace material if you know what I mean." Link said, while examining the palace. It was about three times better in every way than the castle in Hyrule. "If you mean table manners and such, don't worry. Around here we don't have a big 'to do' for meals, so don't worry. And we try to maintain equality, so no one is expected to be more 'proper' or 'elegant' than anybody just because he or she resides in the palace." Fiona said, making Link feel a lot better. "There is a free room next to mine that you can have." Fiona added, solving that little problem. Fiona led Link to a large balcony on the seventh floor, where all of the people in the village were gathered around on the ground. "Today, we have a new member in out village!" Fiona started, starting to make Link feel a little uneasy, "His name is Link! Link is our first member into the village that is an outsider! He has promised to help us in our fight against our enemy across the sea!" After the final comment was made, a large roar was emitted from the crowd.  
  
Actually, I failed to mention that Link had agreed to help Fiona fight against the enemy across the sea. Much negative output was gossiped through the people of the village after Link's arrival. Many thought that he was indeed the Hero of Time in the legend, while others thought that he and Fiona were going together. Link learned to be happy though, and he was soon accepted by everyone in the span of a week.  
  
***  
  
"It sure does feel good to be out of that bed." I said, as Misty, Brock, and me walked around the town. We stopped to eat at what used to be the old pokemart, and reminisced about times past. Some good memories were relived as well as some bad ones, but overall, we had fun. "So what are you two going to do now?" Brock asked us. "Well, I guess we'll finish what we started to do." Misty said. "No. I still have something to do." I said, as I got up from the table and left. Yeah, that was rude, but I had made a promise, and I don't break promises. "Where do you think he's going?" Misty asked Brock who just said, "Let's just hope he knows what he's doing."  
  
I made my way to the same place that Misty and I were jumped a few days ago, and sure enough, there those bikers were, stuffing their face with some disgusting looking food. "Well, look who came back for seconds, boys." The leader said as he dropped his food, and walked over to me. "Kid, you've made a very bad mistake, and I don't believe I'm going to be as lenient towards you this time." "Shut up," I demanded as I peaked my anger, "I made a promise, and I intend to keep it." I then spun around and kicked the leader in the head. The rest of the bikers started to get up, but the leader silenced them and said, "No boys, this is our fight. If this kid is so eager to die, then who am I to not grant his wish?" With that, he jumped at me and connected to my jaw. I was used to the pain by then, so I shook it off as nothing. I grabbed his wrist, spun myself around while still holding onto his wrist, and gave him an elbow to the face.  
  
My hold on his arm prevented him from falling, so I raised him up a bit higher, and kicked him in the face. I let the bastard fall to the ground, and I never let up on him. Kick after kick, stomp after stomp, I let him have the full extent of my rage until I was sure that his bones were a powder. The rest of the bikers must have thought I was demon possessed, because they ran off. I didn't see it though. All I saw was the limp form of a body under my foot. Tired of kicking, I held him up with my left hand, and repeated the process with my right hand, except this time, it was punching. My fists were cut, and my face was splattered with blood, but I kept up the beating. The body in front of me had died already, but I kept hitting him. I only stopped when I saw her.  
  
Misty was standing on the sidewalk by Brock just staring at me with a horrified look on her face. I dropped the body and walked over to her and simply said, "I promised him he'd die by my hand." Misty, despite all of my violence, blood, and hate, embraced me, and never let go. I returned the hug, but I didn't dare kiss her. That bastard's blood may have been on my face, but I'd be damned if it was getting on hers. "I never thought you had it in you, Ash." Misty said, breaking the hug. "I do when it's involving you." I said to her, making her smile. "Oh, come on," Brock said, as he heard what Misty and me were discussing, "I've got better things to do than listen to you two go on." "Sorry Brock." I said, remembering where I was. Well anyway, we walked back to the Hospital and got our things from the holding area, and we went to the train station. Brock and Nurse Joy saw us off, as we left for Saffron City.  
  
***  
  
"So, where do you come from?" Fiona asked Link as they sat out on a cliff overlooking the sea. "I come from a very troubled land far away called Hyrule." "What do you mean 'troubled'?" Fiona again questioned Link. "Well," Link started, "There was this evil monster called Ganon that wouldn't stop terrorizing Hyrule. I killed him numerous times, but each time, he came back. But the odd thing is, I don't know how I got 'here'. I mean, one day I was walking around, and these weird creatures showed up. Then I found white holes that seemed to be portals. I jumped into one of the holes, and I was suddenly in a dark area, with a single light at the far edge of the place. I got to the light, only to be looking down at another land. It was as if I was flying above your land or something. Well, anyway, I jumped out of the hole, and fell to the ground just outside of your village."  
  
"Wow, it sounds to me like you have a very fun life." Fiona said, looking Link in the eyes. "Well, not really fun, but exiting." Link replied, still holding eye contact with Fiona. "Well, you've never told me," Fiona started, breaking her look at Link, "Is there someone 'special' to you back in Hyrule?" Link knew where this was going, and he didn't know what to say. So, he told the truth, "Not anymore." He said, still looking at Fiona. She turned to face him again, and she could tell that he wasn't telling a lie. After this, Fiona sunk down into Link's chest and relaxed. Link let her, all the while thinking of what he was going to do. "Well," Link thought, "It hasn't been much better than this in Hyrule, so I guess I could stay here." For the rest of the night, Fiona slept in Link's arms, and Link, well he didn't sleep at all, he instead decided to play his ocarina all night.  
  
***  
  
"This place has really changed." I said, as Misty and I got off the train in Saffron City. "Yeah, I wonder if Sabrina is still here?" Misty said, bringing back some memories that I didn't like. We decided to get a room for the night, and leave Saffron first thing in the morning. The next day, we found ourselves walking an all too familiar route back home. A lot of time was spent saying things like, "Do you remember…" and "Here's where…" but in all we had fun. The only difference was that our Pokemon weren't with us. I really missed Pikachu, and even though, I wasn't as worried about him now that I'd had that dream, I was still a bit concerned. None of us had been the same since the Pokemon were taken. Misty took it especially hard from her Togipi. That thing meant a lot to her, and me. I mean it thought I was its daddy! I was in a sense though.  
  
I could tell Misty was thinking similar things by the way her face was. She wore a look of sadness and loneliness, even though I was there. "Are you alright?" I asked her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about our Pokemon." She said, confirming my thought. "Yeah, me too." I said, sympathizing with her. We finally made it to the crossroads of Saffron, Cerulean, Lavender, and Vermilion City. Our plan was to take Cerulean to Pewter, then to Viridian and finally back to Pallet. "Well, we'll be in your home town in a little while, if that makes you feel any better." I said, trying to comfort Misty a little. "Yeah, do you mind if we stop by the gym? I need to get some stuff." Misty said, making me wonder what else she could possibly carry. "Sure." I replied.  
  
***  
  
"Link? Link!" Fiona yelled as she woke up to being in Link's arms, and him playing his ocarina. She jumped out from him, and almost fell off the cliff in the process. Link put away his ocarina and looked at her with a lopsided grin on his face. "Are you alright?" He asked with a little sarcasm in his tone. "Yeah, I was just startled at waking up to those situations. I've been sleeping in a bed for fifteen years, and never with anyone else, so you see what I mean?" Fiona asked, getting a nod from Link. "It must be nice to sleep in a bed every night. Or at least know that you had a bed to sleep in." Link thought as Fiona walked past him telling him to come with her.  
  
"They'll all probably be about to flip out seeing as I've been gone all night." Fiona said, looking up at Link and smiling. "Yeah, and they'll probably be ready to hang me, too." Link said, also joking. But he didn't know how serious his last remark was. When Fiona and Link finally returned to the village, all of the villagers stood waiting for them. Fiona just ignored it, but Link had seen those looks before, the ones of murderous intent. Add to that the fact that the eyes are all aimed at you, and you'd be a bit uneasy too. "Stop, Link." One of the villagers said, as he walked out of the crowd with an old short-sword. Link and Fiona stopped, and Link walked toward the villager, ready for anything. The villager looked as if he was about to attack, but he instead said, "get down." Link looked at Fiona who just said, "do it Link." He obeyed, and got down on one knee. The villager then held the sword up in the air, and brought it down…gently?  
  
The villager tapped Link's shoulder with the sword, and told him to rise. "Link, by our god and our people, you are now an honorary knight of the royal army." Link was totally flabbergasted when these words were spoken. He looked back at Fiona who had a huge smile on her face. The rest of the villagers did too. It would appear that this whole 'kill Link' thing was all a big setup. Link turned a slight red as he realized this. "Link my boy," an old man wearing a brown robe said to Link, "You've shown true courage and bravery over your years, and if anyone deserves to be a knight it's you. I only wish our people had something better to give to you, but maybe this will do." The old man then pulled out of his robe a sword that was so burnished that it looked as if it was fresh from the factory. This sword had a solid gold hilt, with a single diamond engraved in the bottom of the handle, and a red aura emitting from the blade.  
  
"I…I don't deserve this." Link said shyly as the magnificent gift was presented to him. He held it in his hand, this sword that was easily twice the size of any of his swords, but it was lighter than them all too. "Son, you deserve more than this sword. The good deeds that you've done for all those people, and you've never expected anything back. Yet you still did them, because you knew it was good." "How…how do you know?" Link asked the old man, as he still was captivated from his knowledge and the sword. "I have my ways." The old man said, as he suddenly vanished before everyone. Link was then bombarded with friendly people's handshakes and pats on the back. He finally made his way out of the mob and back into the palace and into his room. He sat on his bed, and looked at his new sword with amazed eyes. Just then, Fiona walked in. "Oh, hi Fiona." Link said, as he looked up from his sword a moment to greet Fiona.  
  
"That sure is an impressive sword." Fiona said, sitting down by Link and looking at the sword, "Yeah, I wonder what that was all about anyway. I mean I am honored to the maximum for receiving knighthood to your army, but how did that old man know about my past? And what is this sword for? This thing looks like it should be locked up in a protective safe or something." Link said, confused. "Well," Fiona said, "that 'old man' is one of our highest sages, and that sword was my father's." Fiona said with a smile, looking at Link's once again shocked expression. "What?! Your father's? Then I really don't deserve this." Link said, as he looked at Fiona who was laughing slightly. "You may not deserve it, but you are sure stuck with it." She said, giggling even more. "What do you mean?" Link questioned again, still utterly bewildered.  
  
"Don't you see? This sword is tradition. It was my father's and now it's yours. Do you get it now?" Fiona asked Link who was beginning to get the picture. "What are you saying exactly?" Link asked Fiona who was starting to look a little nervous herself. "Well, what I'm saying is, that…I've chosen you, Link." Fiona said to Link who just looked at her. Fiona was starting to get very uneasy. What if he rejected her? What if he just laughed? These were questions running through her mind at the moment. Meanwhile in Link's mind, he was waging a similar war with himself. How do I go about this? I want to be with her, but I don't want to be royalty. Finally, Link just broke the barrier between both of them with getting up off the bed, and going over to Fiona. There he looked into those ice blue oceans of eyes, and finally kissed her.  
  
***  
  
"Anybody here?" Misty called as she pounded on the door of her old Gym. "I guess not." I said, as she opened the door and stepped inside. The place had obviously been out of commission for a while, seeing as how there was dust on everything, and all of the pool was drained. "Exactly what is it that you want here?" I asked her, while trying not to upset her if it was something personal. "Well, this." Misty said, as she walked to a room at the end of the main hallway. She opened the door, and inside the room she went to an old file cabinet. There she pulled out an old album. "What's that?" I asked her. "This is my old photo album." She replied as she sat down in a chair and motioned me to join her. I stood above her looking over her shoulder as she flipped through the old album. It definitely was old. There were no pictures of all of us together, but there were plenty of pictures of Misty and her previous life.  
  
I learned a lot about her from that old album. Her past life, her first Pokemon, and her childhood were just a few of the things on display in that book. Misty was such a cute kid. She had even redder hair than now, and she always wore a look of 'bring it on!' "Why did you show me this?" I asked her after we were finished going through it. "Well, I figured you should know about my past a little." She replied with a smile. "Now all we have to do is get my Mom's old book of me." I said, joking. "Yeah, then we could combine them and have one big childhood book for us." Misty said, continuing the process. "All we have to now though is start taking recent pictures." I finished. "Yep. Well, let's go. We don't have forever to wait to get home." Misty said, leading the way out of her old gym.  
  
The rest of the way to Pewter, we joked about things such as 'what ifs'. I didn't like the ones about us never being together though. Some more fun and not-so-fun subjects were brought up and dropped, as we continued to Pewter City. "Ash," Misty started, "I wonder how you mom will take our being together and all." "Well, that's a good question. I can't say I have the answer to that. People are so unpredictable. Like you." I said, the last remark, attracting the attention of an angrily curious certain someone. "Well, mister murderer, I would say you're far more unpredictable than just attitude swings." Misty said joking, but that one hit below the belt. "Hey! I could have gone all day without that being brought up. I did that for you, you know." I said, starting to get mad at her. "Ash, I'm sorry." Those three words. Those damn three words! Every time something even similar to sorrow or pain or grief comes out of Misty's mouth, I turn into butter.  
  
"Look Misty, I didn't mean to snap, it's just that I'm not used to killing, and that man's well, he's dead!" I said, looking her in the eyes and nearly falling over when I saw the look she had on her face. Her head was cocked at the perfect angle, and she had a perfectly cute smile that just said 'are you crazy?' "What are you looking at me like that for?" I asked her. "Well, it's just that you're all worried over killing somebody for me. I'm proud of you, and I don't care if you had run away from them, I still would love you just the same." She said, as she briefly kissed me on the cheek. "Thanks Misty, I really needed that." I said honestly. We continued our walk, and all was going well when a loud explosion was heard, and with it, came a blast that erupted the ground all around and under us. "Misty!" I yelled as the shifting ground tore us apart. We didn't know at the time, but a large hole was actually opening from the ground.  
  
I finally got my footing, and ran towards Misty. No matter how fast I ran, I couldn't catch her. It was as if the ground was alive, and it was trying to keep Misty pulled away from me. I ran until my legs ached and felt like they weighed a ton, but it seemed the faster I went, the faster Misty was being pulled away. I still ran, until the ground stopped going in waves, and Misty stopped moving. I finally reached her, only for the ground to split open right between us, and expand to accommodate a large white hole leading to nowhere. "Misty!" I yelled across the hole, "I'm coming!" With that, I got up again, and painfully continued my running. I finally found her, and we sat and looked into the hole.  
  
The ground has stopped quaking, and we were just left, facing an enormous white hole that seemed to emit a song of some sort. The melody started off slow, but it soon escalated onto a loud, beautiful song. Misty and I sat, captivated by the music, until it abruptly stopped, and a horrifying scream replaced it. "What was that?" Misty asked in panic as the scream continued. "I don't know but whatever it is, it's in pain." I said, also standing up. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked me as I nodded my head. We said in union, "one…Two… THREE!" And with that, we jumped into the white hole.  
  
Blackness engulfed me as I gained my balance and looked around. "Misty?" I called, making sure she was there. "I'm right here, Ash, but I can't see you." She said, as I followed her voice and bumped into her. We locked hands so we wouldn't be separated, and made our way towards a light that had appeared in front of us. "Is that another land?" Misty asked as we looked out of the hole, directly above a peaceful looking scene. "I think so, but is that a…Mankey?!" I exclaimed as I realized that we must have found where the Pokemon were. "Come on, Misty, we have to get down there. Our Pokemon are there!" I yelled in happiness and started to go towards the hole when I felt a slight tug on my hand. "Ash, I'm…I'm afraid." Misty said, as she held tight to my hand. Dream time once again.  
  
Here I was again, remembering my dream from the other night. I was faced with the decision of my Pokemon or Misty for real now. The dream was true, again. I could either stay with Misty here, and while keeping her, never get my Pokemon back. Or I could go down there without her, and while getting my Pokemon back, I would lose her respect. Sure I could always drag her down with me, but what would the point in that be, aside from getting her mad at me, and having no way to get out of it. "Ash, go if you want, but I'm staying here." Misty said in a timid voice. She was really scared. "Misty…If it'll make you feel better, I'll stay here with you." I said, giving in to her once more. Even if I tried to stay mad or against her, I would always bend, or break, and now was no exception.  
  
But wait, maybe I could bend the rules of my dreams. They weren't binding or anything. "Misty," I started, "Will you come down there with me? I know you're scared, but it won't be so bad, I promise. And just think, you'll be able to be reunited with all of your Pokemon." "Ash, I know, and I really want to, but I just can't make myself do it." Misty said. "Okay, we'll wait a while if you want to, but think about it this way; we'll still be together." Misty sat for a few minuets in deep thought. I don't know what was so bad about this to her, I mean she jumped into the white hole fast enough, but something was really scaring her. "Ash," She said, standing up, "I've made my decision. Let's go!" She never ceases to amaze me. She has to be one of the bravest people I know. "Yeah Misty, let's go." I said as we locked hands. We jumped into the gap, and was seemingly flung down at incredible speeds, but when we landed, it was as soft as a feather.  
  
"Wow, that was fun!" The girl I loved exclaimed as she jumped up and looked to see how far we fell. "First you're scared to death, now you want to do it again?" I asked her, scratching my head. About that time, something brushed up against my leg, and when I looked down, I saw none other than, Pikachu! "Pikachu!" I yelled as I scooped up my old friend, and we hugged for a few minuets. I was nearly in tears about finding my friend when I remembered Misty. I stopped my sudden display of emotion, and said to her, "Well, let's go find your Togipi." She hugged me tightly, and grabbed my hand as we started to walk off. "Pika, Pikach, Chu, Chu, Chow?" Pikachu asked me which translated into "What's with Misty?" "Long story, Pikachu. I'll explain later." I said, as we continued looking for Togipi.  
  
Misty was starting to look dismal as our search progressed, and there was still no sign of Togipi. "Don't worry, we'll find her. "I said comfortingly as I looked at Misty and kissed her cheek. This raised another question of condition from Pikachu, only this time about me. Suddenly, Misty screamed, and I could only think the worse. I ran over to her, and there lay a dead Rattata. It was nearly totally decapitated. I took Misty into a deep hug as she cringed from the sight. "It's alright Misty, it's alright." I said comfortingly as I held her out from me so I could look her in the eye. We held eyes for a long time, and nearly slipped into a kiss, but a slight rub against our legs caught our attention. I was about to kick whatever that thing was for messing up my moment with Misty, but when Misty picked it up, I was very glad I didn't. There she held in her arms Togipi, and was talking to it much like I was to Pikachu upon finding him.  
  
"Togi! Togi, Togi!" Togipi said which translated means, "Mommy! Daddy!" Misty and I both looked at each other and smiled as the only children we could ever have virginally, danced around our feet. "Well, now how do we get out of here?" Misty asked as she began looking around her. "I don't know. The hole we came through is gone." I said as I looked up into the sky and it was as clear a crystal. We then looked some more, only this time we were looking for an exit. We passed many villages, all of which deserted. We saw many other Pokemon, but none were ours. "Misty? Do you remember the screaming we heard earlier?" I asked her, suddenly realizing that we hadn't heard another thing once we got here. "Yeah, it was almost as if it was trying to lure us down here." Misty said, starting to feel uncomfortable. Just at that moment though, we found another hole just like the one that we had come here by.  
  
It was just as white, and just as hollow looking as the other. "Should we jump in?" I asked Misty as a stepped up to examine it. "I don't know, but we aren't going to get anywhere standing around here." Misty said, as she joined me in my gaze at the hole. With a nod, we decided to jump in. Pikachu and Togipi held on for dear life as the four of us plummeted through the hole.  
  
***  
  
"Fiona, does this mean what I think it does?" Link asked, pulling away from their kiss. "All it means is that I've chosen you to officially be my suitor." Fiona said, looking at Link. "So this isn't a proposal?" Link asked Fiona who was now giggling like mad. "No, this isn't. Sorry if I disappointed you." "Disappoint me? I would much rather prefer to wait to get married." Link said to Fiona. "Good, so it's worked out." Fiona said, hugging Link who returned her hug with full enthuse. Suddenly there was a loud knock on Link's door, "Princess Fiona, there is a gentleman here who wishes to speak with you." "Tell him I'm busy." Fiona said, still looking at Link. "I would if I could, but he insists on seeing you." The person at the door said. "Just go," Link said to Fiona comfortingly, "I'll still be here when you get back." Fiona smiled at Link then walked out of the door.  
  
"What does this person want?" Fiona asked the servant as they walked down the hall to the waiting area. There she found a tall young man, about a year older than Link, wearing shiny golden armor. He had in his hand a single rose, an exotic rare flower in this land. "Who are you?" Fiona asked not impressed. "Why Princess Fiona, I am Prince Jon." Prince Jon said with a formal bow. "What do you want, Jon?" Fiona asked, still not impressed. "Princess Fiona, I am here to suit you, and finally be your loving husband." Prince Jon said, again with a bow. "I'm sorry, but I already have a suitor. So that means by the laws of my people, if you still want me, you'll have to fight him. To the death." Fiona said, her eyes starting to brighten as the thought of two brave warriors battling over her ran through her mind. No she wasn't that selfish, but every body has a dream, and this was hers. "Why Princess, I would fight an army for your love." Prince Jon said, once again bowing.  
  
"Should I go get Link?" The same servant that brought Fiona to meet Jon asked her. "Yes, do you mind?" Fiona asked him. "No problem." The servant said as he went off to get Link. In a few minuets, Link walked into the waiting area, where Fiona and Jon stood. "What's this all about?" He asked Fiona as he walked to her side. "Well Link, it would appear that this man wishes to fight you for my hand." Fiona said, looking at Link. "Does he wish to or do you want us to?" Link asked her, knowing that he would fight for her, but not for some over pompous prince. "Well, the customs of my people are to fight if more than one suitor is present, so in a sense, I wish you to." Fiona said, smiling at Link. Link returned the smile, but when his eyes left hers, they were the cold stone eyes that he had had before he came to Fiona and her people. He looked at this Prince Jon man as if he were a beef to be auctioned off. "You ready?" He asked Jon as he met his eyes with his own. "When the Princess appoints the time, yes I am." Jon said, returning an equally fierce look.  
  
"Let's go outside and settle this little dispute, shall we?" Fiona said, as she lead Link and Jon out into the courtyard. It was a perfect place for a fight, nothing but a good-sized clear ground. "Are there going to be spectators?" Jon asked as the thought of winning in front of all the villagers flooded his mind. "Yes, there will be the villagers to watch." Fiona answered, as she walked to the guards and told them to announce what was happening. "Fiona," Link asked her as she returned, "Will there be weapons?" "Yes, there will be any weapons you want." She replied. "Then," Link started again, "Do you want me to use the sword of your father's or is it just for show?" "Well, I don't mind if you use it, seeing as how that is what swords are for, but some people may be offended by it, so it's your call." Fiona said, again putting Link on the spot.  
  
The battle was soon to begin, and the two warriors were ready to get it on. Spectators had gathered at the outskirts of the courtyard, and Fiona was sitting up in a watchtower, directly above the combat zone. Link had his shield out, with his sword drawn for his main weapon (he had chosen not to use Fiona's father's sword). Jon had a shield of his own out, a gray one with his crest on it, and a sword of his own. The tension was built as the two competitors walked onto the field. A servant got up and announced the situation, "Link and Jon, this will be a battle to the death for the right of Princess Fiona's hand! You may begin at will!" Link and Jon dropped their look at the announcer, and turned it to each other. "I'll enjoy ripping you apart." Jon said, as he and Link circled. "Shut up." Was Link's reply.  
  
Jon suddenly charged Link with a mad slash of his sword. Link dodged it, and was on top in an instant. Link slashed at Jon's neck only to be met with a shield block. Jon upturned himself, and began to madly slash at Link. Not one of Jon's mad slashes hit, and he was soon tired out. Link was on him then, and he drove his sword for an easy kill to the heart. Jon used his shield once again to save him. Link didn't wait for retaliation this time though, and went for a quick stick at Jon's throat. The blade met its mark this time though, and Jon was impaled through the throat. Jon choked up blood, as he stood and grasped his throat, dropping his shield. Link watched with normal features as Jon spewed his last blood through his pierced vein. "I'm…not th-through yet!" Jon yelled as he charged for Link one final time, and this time he too hit his target. Link was stabbed in the gut with Jon's sword.  
  
Immediately after this Jon fell dead to the ground, but Link didn't notice as waves of pain ripped through his body. Sure, he was used to it, it had happened many times before, but what was so different about this time? Fiona ran down from the watchtower to Link and flung herself on him, in a sobbing wreck. "Why did I ever go through with this?" She cried as she hugged Link tight. "Link, please don't leave me!" Fiona yelled louder as she could literally feel Link's body slip away under her. "Fiona, I'll never leave you…wait for me." Link said as he used his last amount of strength to stroke Fiona's hair. Fiona smiled slightly as she stroked Link's face in return, but before Link was all the way down her hair, he slipped away…into death.  
  
***  
  
"Ash where are we?" Misty asked me as we landed another feather-soft landing in another odd place. "I don't know, Misty, but it sure does look deserted." I said after seeing that there was absolutely no one around. Misty and I walked around the village that we had landed in, and gasped in union as we saw a gigantic palace. "Oh my gosh! What is that Ash?" Misty asked me, as we stared at the thing. "It looks like a palace to me." I replied as we decided to investigate further. We walked around the side of the thing, and nothing could have prepared us for what our eyes met around the first corner. There was a crowd of people gathered around a circle, in a lowered part of the ground, overlooking two people in the center of the yard. One was a young man and he looked dead. The other was a young woman, and she was crying over him as if he had just died. Beside them, lay another dead person of about equal age to the young man, and he had obviously been killed with a stab to the neck.  
  
"Oh, Ash." Misty said as she clung to my side in sorrow for the two people on the ground. They were obviously very close, as the woman would never leave the man's side. "Should we introduce ourselves? Now doesn't seem like the best time." I said to Misty, kind of answering my own question. "Let's just try to blend in with the crowd." Misty replied, seeing as how that was the only thing that we could do. We walked up to the crowd of people surrounding the scene, and watched on. "Oh, Link, please don't be dead!" The young woman yelled as she still clung to the body of the man named 'Link'. The scene continued, and gradually people left with sorrowful whispers as they went home. Finally, Misty, me, and about one other person was the only ones left. The palace guards had dragged off the other and told some people to tell his kingdom of his death. What I made out of it was the two (Link and the other) had had a fight and both were killed. The other man was not of this village, but of another place far off.  
  
"Who are you?" A guard finally asked us as we continued to watch the spectacle. "I'm Ash and this is Misty." I said slowly, seeing as how I was feeling sorry for the two on the ground. "What just happened here?" Misty asked, letting go of my arm. "Well," The guard started, getting a depressed tone to his voice, "Princess Fiona, the lady there, is of age to be wed. Link was her first suitor, and her first choice. Prince Jon, the one they just took off, was the second suitor. The custom of our people is to have a fight to the death if there is more than one suitor. This has never happened." The guard pointed his hand to the scene to show his point. "So, now who will Princess Fiona marry?" I asked, worrying about this land that I haven't even been on for a day. "I don't know," The guard said, "I just don't know."  
  
"What is that?!" The guard exclaimed as Pikachu came out from behind me and perched on my shoulder. "Oh, this is my Pikachu." I said in reply. "What's a Pikachu?" The guard asked again. "Well, he's a Pokamon, and he's my friend." The guard obviously didn't know what a Pokemon was, and probably didn't want to. "Exactly, where are you two from?" The guard asked, hoping to get some answers that way. "I'm from Pallet Town and Misty here's from Cerulean City." I said truthfully. "I've never heard of either, and I've never seen a Pokemon. You must have come here like Link did." The guard said, confusing Misty and me. "Like Link did?" Misty asked, looking at Link and Fiona. "Yeah, he's not from anywhere around here. He told us that he just fell through a hole and was here." The guard said, shaking his head in confusion. "Yeah, that's how we got here." I said, just elaborating on the guard's confused state of mind.  
  
About that time, Princess Fiona walked up to us and asked us the same questions as the guard did. The guard repeated everything we had said, and the Princess looked at us and smiled slightly. "You two are a wonderful pair. Never let anything happen between you." The Princess said as she looked over Misty and myself. "I'm sorry, about…" I started to say, but she cut me off with an, "It's okay." I could tell it wasn't okay, and neither Misty nor me knew what to do. We had gotten there at the absolute worst time. "Well, I'm sure you're not comfortable standing outside here. Why don't you go inside and make yourselves comfortable until I come in?" The Princess said as she looked at Link's body one final time. We walked inside and sat down in the waiting area while Fiona said her last goodbyes to Link.  
  
***  
  
"Link, I know you'll come back somehow. I hardly knew you, but I care for you more than I knew I could. I'm not going to talk past-tense anymore. You will come back to me, and we'll be happy again. I'm going to keep your room and your things in perfect order until you come back to me, but until then, rest happy. You deserve it." Fiona bent down and slightly kissed Link's forehead. She started to cry, seeing as how it was beginning to get cold. She ordered the guards out and told them to take Link's body to the burial room, and prepare it for the funeral. She said goodbye to Link one final time, and he was gone.  
  
***  
  
Princess Fiona came back inside the waiting area, sobbing slightly, and sat down in front of us, and dried her eyes. Misty and I tried not to display our affection much seeing as how Fiona had just lost the one she loved. "I'll have the guards prepare you a room, and you can stay as long as you'd like." Fiona said, regaining her calm appearance. "Thank you." Misty and I said at the same time. Fiona then went up the stairs, and we were left in the waiting area to think. We decided to go outside the palace and explore he place a little, but that didn't last long, seeing as how no one would let us go by their home without interrogation. We made out way back to the palace and sat in the waiting area once more, waiting for anything to happen. "Ash, how are we ever going to get home?" Misty asked me, looking in my eyes with the eyes of a lost puppy. "I don't know Misty. I don't know anything now." I said.  
  
About that time, the same guard that greeted us came down from the stairs and told us to follow him. We did, and at the end of the walk that he led us on, we found our room. "I hope this is satisfactory." The guard said as he opened the door for us. "Thank you very much." I said, to him, and I didn't know what else to say. He left us be, and shut the door behind him. At least we were alone now. Misty and I sat on the bed and hugged each other so tightly that we didn't know if we would be able to breathe. "Ash, I love you." Misty said to me as she hugged even tighter. "I love you too, Misty." I returned, pulling her away from the hug, and kissing her gently. We lied down on the bed, and fell asleep. What had happened to Fiona was horrible, and we didn't want it to happen to us. I know it's selfish, but it's reality, and we were lucky. But seeing that made us realize something. Never take one moment for granted, because the next second may take it all away.  
  
***  
  
"Link. Link." "What where am I?" Link said as he woke up and looked around at the blackness that engulfed him. "You are in the median of life and death." "Who are you? Where are you?" Link began to call to this mystery voice that called to him. "I am not important now, only you are." "Me? Why?" Link asked again. "You will be needed in the living world soon, Link. But before you can go, you must answer a question." "Fine. What's the question?" Link said, starting to get slightly annoyed. "What did you die for?" Link pondered the question for a moment, not wanting to get the wrong answer and not be able to return to help. "I died for…Fiona." Link answered, realizing that she was the one he died for. "Very well. You may return." "Did I get the question right?" Link asked. "That is for you to decide. Only you can tell what it is that you live and die for. Link, only you can control your destiny." Link gave a puzzled look to whoever was talking, and ran towards a light that appeared in the distance.  
  
Fiona lay asleep in Link's bed and cried in her sleep. She had cried herself to sleep, and now she was still crying. Link ran through the light, but he was still not back in the plane of the living yet. It was as it his spirit floated around everywhere looking for his body. He saw this scene with Fiona and floated down to give her a kiss (if you could call it that). Fiona smiled slightly in her sleep, and Link continued his search for his body. He wandered around all over the palace grounds, and finally, he found it in the burial room. He didn't know that he was doing this, but he lowered into the body and jumped awake, fully restored. "What do I do now?" He asked himself. He didn't want to just go lay down with Fiona, because when she woke up, she would probably have a heart attack. "The voice said that they would need me soon, but when? I guess I'll just lay low for a while until things start to get rough." With that, he walked up to where Fiona lay asleep, and gave her a kiss for real this time. He then, walked off into the hills beside the village.  
  
Morning came, and Fiona was first to awaken. "He's back!" She exclaimed as soon as she woke up. She ran to her room and got dressed then she went down to the burial room. She had had a dream of Link retuning, and it seemed so real that she was positive it really happened. She stopped dead in her tracks as she entered the room. The table on which Link had lied before was now vacant, and small burn marks outlined where his body used to be. "Oh, my God." Fiona whispered as she sank to the floor. She had saw him die. She had held him in her arms the exact moment of his death. Now he was gone. About that time, a guard ran down to the burial room, to check on Fiona. He had saw her run into the room, and he thought she might need assistance. "Princess Fiona? Are you…" He stopped short as he saw what Fiona had just witnessed. Link's body was gone.  
  
"Tell no one about this." Fiona said as she stood herself, and left the room. "Yes Princess." The guard returned. Fiona left to her room, and sat on her bed. Meanwhile…Link finds his way to the mountains and picks a little cave. "Why am I doing this? I should go back to her." Link said to himself as he prepared to live in the cave. "It may be years before they need me. I can't wait years to see her." Even though he was constantly talking himself out of it, Link continued to settle down in his cave. He could live there for as long as he wanted, but why would he want to? "I'll see her one last time." Link says before he takes a noon nap.  
  
"Ahhhhhh!" Ash yelled with a start as he shot awake in this strange place. "Ash, what is it?" Misty asked, also springing awake. "Nothing Misty. I'm just not used to this place." Ash said as he got up from bed. He and Misty fixed themselves up a little, and went down to see what was going on. When they got down the stairs, they saw Princess Fiona sitting on a couch, staring into nowhere. "What's the matter, Princess" ash asked as he and Misty sat down across from her. "He's…gone." Was all Fiona said. "What? Who's gone?" Misty asked, leaning in closer to Fiona. "Link." At this, Misty and Ash realized that Fiona must have been in a state of denial when they first met, and now she was finally aware of the situation. "Um, we'll be outside." Ash said as he and Misty got up and went outside to talk. "Poor thing, she's totally flipped." Misty said as they got outside. "I know. But it is a little strange." Ash said, looking at Misty.  
  
About that time, a guard walked by, and overheard the conversation. He was the one that had found Fiona in the burial room. The guard walked up to Ash and Misty and spoke, "Fiona's not in denial. She's so upset because this morning, Link's body was nowhere to be found in the burial room." "What? His body is gone?" Ash said, looking at the guard. "Yes, there were traces of burns surrounding his body, but no sign of even a stitch of clothing from him." The guard said again. The three stood and talked of possible explanations for the disappearance, and of solutions to Fiona's depression. The day rocked on, and it only got hotter.  
  
"Well, I can see her one last time, even if I can't talk to her." Link said as he put on a cloak and began his walk to the village. It was a fairly short walk for Link because all he could think about was Fiona, but it was very hot, especially in that cloak. He finally made it to the village, and was looked at by all of the villagers like a mad man. Of course no one knew who he was, so he was considered a stranger. Link arrived at the palace and used his hookshot to get on the third floor where Fiona's room was. He made his way to her window, and peered in, nothing. He then decided to go to the main floor and look in there. She was in there, but didn't know that Link was also. Fiona had been thinking extremely hard about where Link's body may be, but she couldn't figure anything out. About that time, Misty, Ash, and the guard walked into the main chamber where Fiona was. The guard left to his post, and Misty and Ash sat down across from Fiona.  
  
"Who are they?" Link asked himself as he saw Ash and Misty. He decided to stay a while and see who they were. "Princess, is there anything we can do? I mean, you're treating us with such good hospitality, even after your loss." Misty said to Fiona. "No, I'm fine. I have something to tell you though. There is a war coming, and I'm going to need all of the help I can get," Fiona said, "You see, the Prince that Link killed yesterday was actually the prince of our enemy across the sea. I didn't recognize it at the time, but it's unquestionably them. They'll be very mad when they hear of their prince's death." Upon hearing this, Link nearly fell out of the window. He would be needed sooner than thought. "I'll make an entrance," Link thought at first, "But then again, that kid will need training. I guess I could go down there now and start." Link decided it in his mind, and prepared to jump down in front of them all. That would be his entrance. He took a deep breath, and jumped.  
  
Link landed with a small thud in between Fiona and the two young ones. "Link!" Fiona yelled as she immediately got up and nearly tackled him in a hug. Misty and Ash were totally dumbfounded at the dead hero's return. "I…thought you were…dead." Fiona said, beginning to cry into Link's chest. Link hugged her tightly and looked at Ash and Misty with a smile. Fiona finally broke the hug and looked into Links eyes deeply. Link returned the look, and they had a miniature conversation within their eyes. After, Link could finally focus on the pair sitting dumb. He spoke to Ash, "If you are going to fight in the war with me, you'll need training." Ash immediately stood, and (being the 'go get em' kind of person he is) said, "Right! Let's go!" "Slow down Ash, Link has just got back from…wherever, and I'm sure he'll want to spend some time with Princess Fiona. Now, let's get out of their hair for a while." Misty said, standing up and taking Ash's hand to lead him outside.  
  
"Link, I saw you…die. How…" But Link cut Fiona off by saying, "Shhhh, just be quiet for now. I'll answer all of your questions later. Right now, let me just live in this moment." The two then embraced once more, and finished it off with a deep kiss. Meanwhile, Ash and Misty are outside…  
  
"I wonder how in the world Link is back?" Ash said, questioning particularly no one as he paced around. "Ash, come here," Misty said as she pulled Ash to her, "Ever since Link has been called dead, we haven't been able to show affection towards each other. That's over now, so we can." Misty then pulled a still thinking Ash into a kiss. Ash's thoughts were totally replaced as he put up his end of the kiss. The two stayed in that kiss for the longest time. All of the while, people were shunning this as 'they go behind Fiona's back in her time of grief' sort of thing. They didn't know the full story though. About that time, Link and Fiona walked out of the palace only to find Ash and Misty in their kiss. "Well, I guess it rubbed off." Link said to Fiona, referring to their affectionate display. Misty saw them, and abruptly ended the kiss. Ash had his back turned to Link and Fiona, and thought Misty had stopped because of something he had done. "Misty, what…" Ash started, but Misty pointed behind Ash, and after turning around, he understood. "Sorry." Ash said.  
  
"Okay, Ash, I suppose the cross-sea people know about their prince by now, so that'll only give us about a week's training at the most." Link said, getting serious. "So, in other words, we'd better start now." Ash said, saying what Link didn't. The two walked off to the palace's training area, and left Misty and Fiona on the porch of the palace.  
  
"Okay Ash, here's the basics," Link started, "These are my rules, so they'll probably deviate from what you may have learned. Rule number one: You fight to kill. Either you don't fight, or you do and mean it. No half- ass. Rule number two: If you get hit in a fight, don't freeze. That'll happen if you aren't careful, and you'll be open for attack. Rule number three and my final rule: There are no rules in a fight. In a war, anything goes. Don't be persuaded by weak attempts to live. Win at all costs." Ash stood, soaking in Link's words. The three main rules for Ash were a bit different, but they still were good. Brock used to take Martial Arts, and he taught Ash in between classes. "Question," Ash started, "Do you people here fight with swords or guns or what?" "Well, we fight with swords, spears, knives, and any other weapons that we need. I'm not familiar with the term 'gun'." Link said, confirming ash's thought.  
  
The two later began their actual training, and it was bad. Ash stayed on the dirt, and never got one hit in on Link. "Link, I will get you!" Ash yelled as he swung his sword in a mad slash at Link. Link dodged the swing easily, and kneed Ash in the ribs. Ash fell to the ground once again, but this time because of his old injury. Link realized that, and cut him no slack. He charged him with his sword, and Ash luckily managed to dodge it. The sword battle lasted a little while longer, and meanwhile, a small figure watched the two duel. "Pika." Pikachu said, as it sat on a cliff and overlooked the match. Pikachu was obviously jealous, because of Ash not using it to fight. He had to understand, though, that there would be no Pokemon in a war. "Aaahhhh!" Ash screamed as Link's sword struck home with his arm. He was lucky it was just a small slash, and not a deep gash. Ash fell to the ground clutching his arm, and dropping his sword. At this, Link walked over to him, and hit him against the head with his shield, hard. "What was rule number two?!" Link demanded, as Ash stood shocked by his mistake.  
  
The two decided to end training for the day, and let Ash heal up from his wound. They walked back to the palace and found Misty and Fiona in a complicated 'girl' conversation. "Let's let them finish." Ash said as he took the opposite route from the girls. Fiona spotted them though and called out, "Did you two have a good time?" Like it was an amusement park that they had went to. Ash turned around and said, "Yeah" and walked over to them. Misty removed his Ash's hand from his arm, and gasped when she saw the cut. "Oh, Ash, you're hurt." She said, looking for something to tie his arm up with. "I'm fine Misty, it's just a little cut." Ash said, stopping Misty with a hand. "You sure didn't act like it was a small cut earlier." Link said mockingly as he was still mad about the training. Fiona couldn't help but giggle a little. "It doesn't matter." Ash said, turning away to clean his wound. "Oh, yeah," Fiona said, "We've received word from our friends across the sea. They've demanded an apology and a large sum of money. Since we're definitely not going to comply, they'll probably wage war on us." "So that's it. They'll be here in a week, at most." Link said, leaving to do some individual training himself.  
  
Misty and Ash went back inside to tend to Ash's cut, and Fiona went to her long-neglected post as the political leader. She would have a lot of work to do for this new war. She was still a bit edgy about the war, even thought she was confident in Link and Ash's abilities, but she still couldn't believe Link was back. He had explained the whole situation to her, and she understood quite easily, but it was still difficult to know that he died in her arms. "Misty, I 'ouch' appreciate 'ooh' what you're doing, but 'aah' it hurts." Ash finally managed to get out as Misty tended his cut. "Stop whining you sissy." Misty said jokingly, as she stressed her cloth on Ash's cut for a moment, eliciting a small yelp of pain from him. Ash, took it seriously though. "I may not be as tough as Link, but I'm not a sissy." Ash said, defending himself, when it wasn't needed. "Ash, you know I was joking." Misty said, looking Ash in the eyes, lightheartedly. "Oh, yeah."  
  
"Damn those people. How dare they attack us? I'll kill them all!" Link said to particularly no one as he did his sword forms over and over. He then plotted each solder's death, as he swung his sword at his invisible enemy. Pikachu still sat on the cliff above the training are and did some thinking itself. You see, from its point of view, Ash was being taken from it by Link to fight this war. But now that Link was training here alone, and he said what he was thinking, Pikachu saw that his purpose wasn't bad after all. He was doing it for everybody. About that time, Link stopped his swinging, and started to run around the track. At about lap fifty, he still wasn't thinking about the pangs in his side, he ignored the intense burning in his legs, and forgot the sharp breaths he was gripping. All he thought about was the war, and Fiona. He loved her. He hadn't known her for long, but he still loved her.  
  
"Link, what are you doing?" A feminine voice called to Link. Link deviated from his course around the track, and ran to the person that the call belonged to. Fiona waited for him with a towel, and a large pitcher of water. "Fiona, you didn't have to do this." Link said, as he dried off his ocean of sweat and drank an equally large ocean of water. "I think you've had enough for today." Fiona said to Link as she dragged him back to the palace. Pikachu silently followed. When the two humans arrived at Fiona's palace, they found ash and Misty outside talking, and Togipi was in Misty's arms. Fiona or Link had never seen a Pokemon, and they were speechless, but they passed it off as "Those kids are weird anyway." Piakchu took its place on ash's shoulder, and received a surprised greeting from Ash.  
  
"Ash, I don't want you to fight." Misty said worriedly as she gave a pleading look in ash's eyes. "Misty please don't try to stop me." Ash returned as he looked her in the eyes this time. "I can't stop you if your mind is set on it, I know that. But I'm just asking you to reconsider. Or at least promise to stay safe." Misty said, taking Ash's hand and holding for dear life. "Misty I will, but the war hasn't started yet. I still have about a week." Ash concluded, hugging Misty tightly. Fiona and Link witnessed the whole thing. Not from being nosy, but they just saw it happen. Fiona wasn't at all worried about Link. I was her people's custom to send all the men into a war. Besides, she had enough faith in Link to know that he would be safe. "They really care about each other." Link said, as they continued to witness the embrace that Ash and Misty put up. "Yeah, you can tell they've know each other for a while." Fiona said, finishing their little discussion of the two in front of them.  
  
***  
  
I was feeling great. The training from Link and the individual training that I went through was helping me in all of the categories. My mind, body, and spirit were stronger than ever. Three days had passed by in what had seemed like one. The day of reckoning was coming fast, and nothing could stop it. Link had made his official 'coming back' address to all of the villagers, and Misty and myself heard him tell what had happened to him. I knew full well that for Link to be needed back in this land, the war would be a bad one. Scared? Never, but I was a little edgy when the thought of actually being on the front line of a war crossed my mind. But Link would be fighting alongside me, and it would be okay. Wouldn't it? "Ash!" Came Link's voice from across the training area, "Get over here!" I continued my run around the track, but stopped at Link. "What is it?" I asked, wondering what Link wanted. "Your great grandmother could jog around the track fifty times. You run it!" I was jogging wasn't I? Oops. I then started a new fifty laps, but this time, sprinting at full speed. Around lap thirty, I was ready to fall, but I kept remembering that running was all mental.  
  
Finally finished with lap fifty, I fell over on the ground at the finish line. "Get up, and grab your sword." Link said harshly, as he kicked me in my all too aching ribs. I reluctantly got up and retrieved my sword and shield. As soon as I was turned around, Link came at me with a swing of his sword. I managed to evade it, but I was still totally gave out from my run, and I couldn't function. "Fight harder! If you want to live, fight harder!" Link kept yelling at me. I didn't understand the reason for his anger and sudden motivation, but I would soon find out. Between every sword swing and every block, Link would tell his tale. When he was finished, I pieced together this: Link had left in the night on a boat going cross-sea. He planned to run into our enemy, and he did. He saw that their numbers were around five times our own, and they would be here sooner than expected.  
  
"When will they get here?" I questioned Link as I delivered a particularly forceful slash that sent him back a few feet. "In about one day. Tomorrow morning, the enemy will be here." Link said, dropping his sword to let me really soak in his words. Apparently, the enemy had figured the prince's death when he hadn't returned, and they had left for us early. They received the message, and that gave them total confirmation that he was dead. "Tomorrow?" I said weakly, as I stopped the fight too. "Yeah, so we'd better get some last minuet training in for a few hours, and then prepare the townspeople. After that, we'll have a little while to rest." Link said, he had it all figured out. So we did as planned, and continued training. I was fighting, running, doing my forms, and all other training activities much harder than I had been. If their army got here before we were ready, no telling what we might lose. Misty was all that ran through my head. Every punch, kick, sword slash, or block was generated out of my wanting to be with her. She was so scared of me fighting, and now it'll be all too soon that I'll have to.  
  
A few hours later, we stopped, and set out to inform the townspeople and the guards of our enemy's early coming. Link had Fiona summon the villagers in front of the palace, and she addressed everyone at once. Link answered any questions, and that was settled. Misty was horrified. She never had liked fighting, especially with a friend in it, and now she was in the middle of a full-scale war. All that evening, every thing was too quiet. Not a word was spoken between Link, Fiona, Misty or myself. We ate, bathed, walked around, and tried to think. Misty wouldn't let go of my arm, and I wanted to do some mental preparing, but I didn't want to upset her. I finally convinced her to let go, and she did without a protest.  
  
I went back into a room that was as dark as the night sky outside of it, and sat in a small corner. Concentrating your mental energy, and summoning your ki is what it's all about. Anyone can do this, it just comes easier for some. My body started glowing a slight red, and as my mental focus increased, as did my aura. When you do this, you don't really think about anything, but at the same time, you think about everything. There really is no way to explain the process, but the benefits are plain to see. When you meditate, your mental self is at peace, and under your control. So if your mind is prepared enough, you can take a direct hit, and while you may die from it, you won't be bothered by it. Link was doing the same thing in his room, but I didn't know this. The hours rolled by, and my mental state never wavered. Fiona and Misty were starting to worry about us, but they didn't search. Finally, I got up, and decided to go to bed. Link and Fiona had already settled down for the night when I got into the main chamber of the palace, so Misty and I did the same thing.  
  
It would be only around seven hours before our enemy arrived in our shores, but I slept like a baby. Misty finally spoke to me, and said, "Ash, what if you die?" I was visibly shaken by this question, but I answered to the best of my abilities. "Misty, I will never leave you. So don't worry about that." I said, as I stroked her hair. She smiled a smile that always seems to put me at ease. We finally fell asleep, at about the same time, I guess. My dreams that night were not like any I've had before. Link and I were in the middle of the war. It was only us, tattered and torn us, against the whole unscathed enemy. The opposition all looked exactly alike, they were demons, demons without face or soul. All of them were shrouded in black cloaks, and they hovered at around ten feet tall. Their face was totally covered, and something told me that I wouldn't want to see their uncovered face. All of them seemingly floated over to Link and myself, as we prepared to attack. We swung madly, but at nothing it seemed. Every time our sword would slice the wind, the wind was all it would slice. As the demons neared us, and readied their selves for the kill, I was awakened by Link shaking my shoulder. It was time to go.  
  
I gathered my things, and received a special sword, shield, and suit of armor from Link. He said that they were his old ones, but they looked fresh off the forge. I didn't wake Misty, as I slid out of our room, and into the courtyard where the rest of the fighting villagers and guards awaited us. Link and I led the charge to the shore where we would meet the enemy. We set up small barricades and shielding devices that the archers could attack the enemy from. We had it all planned out: the archers would be the first line, attacking the enemy just as they left the large ship on the small boats, the second line would be the foot soldiers that carried the big shields, that would meet the enemy in the very surf of the shore, and Link, me, and a few others would remain the third line of defense. The ship would probably be laying cover fire for its warriors, but we didn't care. We would stick to our plan to the end. So, the archers prepared for the start, and the rest of us fell back into the sand dunes. We would have darkness and the element of surprise on our side, but the enemy would have the numbers, and the firepower.  
  
About thirty minuets later, we saw the silhouette of five ships in the distance. Our breathing seemed to stop, as we awaited the oncoming foes eagerly. The archers readied their bows, and we sank back, as the ships still neared. The ships were on us, and the enemy was sending out their warriors on small boats. The archers pulled back their bow strings, the small moaning of catgut being stretched filled the air. "Go." A slight whisper was heard, and the silence was broken. Arrows jetted through the air, and sudden screams of pain replaced the tranquility. The water was astir with bodies falling into it, and boats attempting to relocate and put up defenses. Many people jumped out of the boats and swam the rest of the way to the shoreline. That's when the archers ceased fire and the foot soldiers replaced them. They ran from the dunes into the waters, slashing, and yelling, surely giving at least one heart attack to the horrified enemy. The opposition was resilient though, and they had broken their way through the foot soldiers in a matter of minuets. It was our turn to be the last defense against the enemy. The whole village was in our hands.  
  
  
  
End, Chapter two 


	3. The War & Its Aftermath

For about ten minuets, my vision was nothing but a hazy red. I vaguely recall the first ten minuets, but what I do remember, was nothing but slashing, blood, and constant yells. Their army was triple the size of ours, but we had the heart to fight, and the cool morning air just fueled my inspiration to live. Link was lost from my sight along the line somewhere, but it didn't matter. All around me, people fell, and they still came. I killed at least twenty, and they still came. After the first ten minuets, my mind cleared enough to remember my training, and fight harder than ever. Usually it was three of them fighting one of us, and our numbers just fell, while theirs rose. All I could see of them were shadows, but as the sun began to rise, they took shape. Every one of them were around a foot taller than any one of us, and they all wore some demonic looking armor, that had hellish inscriptions all over it. Their faces were covered, but we could see their eyes, their blood red eyes. Obviously, Prince Jon was not at all like them in the fact that he looked normal.  
  
The fighting continued, but a few of our men began to fold under the intimidation of the ungodly warriors. No wonder Fiona was so scared. The peak of my fighting was when I was matched four to one in a battle. They came at me from all sides, and surrounded me. I was a pin cushion for swords and fists for a few moments, but I finally broke free with a great slash of my sword. I beheaded one of the enemy, and the other three had a look of a bit more respect for me. I was then the one who attacked with another mighty slash of my sword. A shield countered it, and I staggered back a bit from the recoil of my sword hitting the shield. The three took this opportunity to kill me then, and came at me again. I managed to roll out of the way of one slash, and counter the other two with my shield. I finally got to my feet, and began to single out opponents to fight. I killed two that way, but the last one remained strong. This vaguely reminded me of my earlier fight with the bikers, the last one versus me. We fought for longer than any other match that I'd been in. I'd cut him, he'd cut me. We bled and caused blood, we hit and got hit. This was starting to get annoying and repetitive. I was soon swinging out of having nothing better to do.  
  
It seemed like all around me, people were having fun fighting and killing. To me, it was fun to fight if it went somewhere and you killed your opponent. But this was going nowhere. I finally gave up, and began swinging like a madman. Slash after slash, I'd gash away at his weak flesh. Even after he was down, I continued cutting him like a slab of ribs. Mt sword was a solid red with blood and tendons of this poor fool who dared to challenge me. This war wasn't all it was made out to be. Sure, I sustained considerable damage, but the enemy wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Mostly, the enemy was being fought off by Link and me. The villagers were obviously not being trained to fight very well. Maybe Link and I would train them all and begin our own military with them. But anyway, back to the 'war'. My armor was dented, banged, and in one spot on my left shoulder, cut by a battle axe. My face was quite bloody, cut, and bruised from many numerous blows with sword hilts, and fists. My sword was quite 'used', seeing as how the hilt was cracked, the blade stained with blood, and dented, and the handle nearly eroded from all the sweat protruding from my hands.  
  
All around me, more fell, and more came. Yes, the enemy still came off the ship, one by one. This third line of defense was holding them off pretty well though. Our main weapons were swords, but the enemy had it all, swords, axes, sticks with spiked balls attached to them by chains, and knives of all shapes and sizes. Many times had I been stabbed with a knife, but eventually, I rendered it as a flea bite, annoying but not threatening. Our numbers decreased significantly, and it seemed as though the enemy was through sending troops off their ship. Link, myself, and about twelve other soldiers was all that remained to ward off about twenty- five opponents. As the last of them left the boats, we readied ourselves for a final charge. "Take all the life you can!" Link's voice rang clear over the sea of bodies. As the enemy just exited their boats, we charged, sword out, and deathly purpose in out eyes. A wild battle cry escaped everyone's mouth as we continued our charge for the enemy. This was it. If we didn't finish it all now, there wouldn't be anyone left to defend the village.  
  
As we neared the enemy, they prepared themselves as best they could with their shields. When we all finally met, there was a great deal of slashing and yelling. I met one boat all to myself, and I killed five instantly. Three more met my sword's blade eventually, and that was the end for me. Apparently, all of the enemy were killed, and only five of our men faced death. We had won, but at what price? Only seven men left to go home their families, only seven men left to defend and entire civilization of people. Village it may be named, but Fiona's people have a very large population, and structure count. It could easily be called a city. Anyway, the seven of us didn't even bother to recognize our wounds as we honored the deaths of the many warriors that had died for their way of life. Clearing all of the enemy into a large hole, and burying them, we took each and every dead back to the village signally, and gave him a proper funeral. It took longer than the war itself did, and even though we kept if up for two days straight without sleep, we persisted, to give the fallen the honor they truly deserve, and respect to their families.  
  
The political persons had finished their business with the enemy, and still uninformed of their names, we declared ourselves free from their hands forever. I didn't see Misty for three days, and Link had mysteriously gone missing. We searched everywhere for him, but to no avail. We finally declared him as M.I.A. I never saw him at the burial at all, so he could have been gone even then. No one else saw him either, so we took it as he was gone from the end of the battle. Fiona took it hard. She never slept, ate, or acted sane for about a week. After that, she never left Link's room, and only ate when the servants brought her meals up (which they never failed in doing). She was torn from head to toe in losing Link for the second time, and we sadly all thought that it would only be a matter of time before she totally lost it, and would have to be sent to a mental facility. Misty and I decided to settle down here, and we learned to be happy with it. I did start my own military, and the population of soldiers grew tremendously as they saw that I had a well- trained army at my command.  
  
Every day I trained my men, and every day I watched as they learned the ways that I knew from Link. I built myself an appropriate training facility, and in my H.Q., I had a portrait of Link in bloody battle hanging from my wall. When ever I started my training, I would remind the men of the real reason I was even here, Link. I would tell all I knew of him, and how his bravery and heroism had saved us all. Link was (if even only to me) the greatest hero of all. There was one student in particular that had caught my attention. He was a young man of about fourteen, and had fierce determination. Oh yeah, I forgot, I didn't raise this empire in a day, no, it had been five years since the war, and I was nineteen. That would make Misty twenty, Fiona twenty-two, and Link twenty-three. Misty and my relationship was stronger than ever. We had moved happily into the palace's royal military compound, and thankfully, Fiona had moved on, even though she had gotten with someone else, and was going to get married. Link never left her mind though, and you could tell she had always loved him.  
  
Anyway, back to the young man of great promise that I was talking about. He had wild black hair, and red eyes that clearly displayed his willpower. He was lean, but well-built, tall, and had a small scar on his right cheek that he didn't care to talk about. Of course being the commander of an army, I had to be strict, and gave him hell about that scar. I had gave him the name 'scar face', but his real name was Christopher Gooding Smith. He had the nickname 'Ice' among his ranks, and that's what he reported for duty as. This boy of fourteen was a determined to be the best as I used to be. Perhaps I took a liking to him because of this, or because of something else, but either way, he had something that was special, and very few people anymore have it. He respected me, and shunned my teasing names as a true warrior should. He passed every training course, and every test at one-hundred percent efficiency. He had more stamina and strength than all of the other soldiers in my ranks, but he still didn't let that fact cloud his mind. He saw himself as the lowest person in the training facility, and he worked harder and harder to be the best.  
  
My personal life wasn't at all on hold. Every day I came back to Misty and we would act just as we did before the war. The war had changed us a lot, and we both grew up that day. I never in my wildest dreams imagined being the commander of an entire army. One day though, everything turned around, some for the good and some for the bad. "Misty! I'm home!" I yelled as I entered our home, dropping my things in a chair.  
  
"Ash!" Misty yelled happily as she ran to greet me. We hugged and kissed for a while before we asked the usual 'how was your day'. Misty was as hard of a worker as I but in an entirely different field. She worked with all sorts of water animals, as a marine biologist and she was good at it. "I had a normal day, and by the look on your face, so did you."  
  
"You got me on that one." I said in reply, as a walked into the kitchen for a snack. "Misty, come here." She came into the kitchen and sat down beside me. "We're too young to be settled down. I mean, we're at our prime, and we're acting as if we've already lived through it. If I asked something drastic, how would you react?"  
  
"Well, it depends on what you ask me." She said, giving me one of those smiles that keeps me close to her.  
  
"Will you agree to you and me leaving here for a while?" I asked, leaving her with a look of deep thought on her features. "We'll leave now, and not come back for about two weeks." She looked at me and smiled.  
  
"Fine, let me pack." Misty said as we both got up and shared a kiss before walking into our room and getting some things. We each had a small case of some clothes and supplies, and we were ready. Misty led the way as we walked out of the door, and towards the hills. At about the entrance of the hills, we were stopped by Ice.  
  
"You two are leaving? Be careful, there are dangerous things out there. Believe me, I know." Ice said as he let us pass.  
  
"I know Ice, but thanks anyway." Misty said as she and I walked past him. I turned around to say something too, but he was already gone. That kid was weird. Misty and I walked for a while before we came upon some caves that looked inviting enough to be a temporary getaway. We selected one, and unpacked there. "Ash, Can't we just do what we used to, and wander around some more? I know it was stupid at the time, but I miss it."  
  
"Yeah Mist, so do I. Let's go." I said as I got up from the rock I was sitting on and helped Misty off hers. The two of us packed a backpack each of clothes, and left. For some reason, I had brought along my old hat, and both Misty and me had our old backpacks. Heading farther east of the hills, we said that we would discover the surrounding lands and make a map.  
  
"Sometimes Ash, I wish we were still young, and still wandering aimlessly around, like we used to. This new life is fun, but I fell so grown, and I don't like it." Misty said as she took my arm, and cuddled her head against my shoulder.  
  
"I know Misty, and to tell the truth, I miss it too. But we have duties now, and we can't just abandon them." I said, immediately realizing some ways out after I had already said it.  
  
"I'm sure someone can take your place as the leader of the army, and I know I could quit my job." Misty protested, revealing that she was thinking just what I was.  
  
"I know Misty, and maybe we can do it." I said, ending the conversation for a relaxing walk down new memory lane. Continuing walking, Misty and I passed several streams, crossed a river, passed through a good sized wood, and traversed many more hills. We finally came upon a big hill directly in front of us, and when we finally reached the top, we spotted a new city under the watch of the hill.  
  
"Wow, what a place." Misty said as we studied the panorama below. The place was about twice the size of our village, and had a palace too. Only this one was about twice the size of ours. We found what appeared to be a barracks for their military, and (since I was still in uniform) I decided to check it out later. "I hope these people are friendly with Fiona's village." Misty finished when I told her of my plan to visit the barracks.  
  
"Well, my guess is they've probably never heard of us. I mean, Fiona's people don't know of any others except for the ones who attacked us across the sea." I said, reassuring Misty as we made our way into the city. Hopefully, I would recruit a new ally to our people. But then again, I did make that promise to Misty about us quitting and leaving the place. We made our way down into the city, myself drawing suspicious glances from my uniform. It was a bright white, with a single neat gold stripe down the right arm of it. I had my other stripes to show of my rank, but other than that, every one else's was the same. Finally arriving at the barracks, I knocked on the door three times. A small metal door opened near the top of the door, and a man looked through  
  
"Who are you, and what do you want?" The man asked us as he saw Misty and me.  
  
"I am Ash Ketchum and this is my girlfriend Misty Waterflower. We come from a city to the east of here and would appreciate it if you could direct us to lodging." I said sounding quite formal.  
  
"Fine, but why did you come to the military training grounds, and why are you dressed in what appears to be a uniform?" The man asked as he looked me over once again.  
  
"Well, I am the commander of my city's military, and I would like to have a word with you if you don't mind." I informed the man who seemed a bit more respectful after hearing of my status.  
  
"Please, come inside, and my superior will speak with you." The man said as he opened the door. Misty and I walked into the office and sat down on a couch. After a short wait, another man walked into the office and sat down in front of us. He was a tall man, with a neat beard, and his uniform was navy blue with two red stripes going diagonally across his right shoulder. This army apparently had medals, and he had plenty. He was obviously very important.  
  
"I hear that you are the commander of an army." The man said looking me over. He had a slightly gruff voice, but it was respectable. "You look quite young to be in command. Who trained you?"  
  
"A great man named Link trained me in my ways of combat, and I have learned a great deal on my own. Aside from that, I do not believe that one should judge by age or appearance." I said, shocking Misty from the way I spoke.  
  
"Understandable, but I need to know. Who is president where you come from?" The man asked. You see, this place was considered to all be one land. So each city had presidents. People knew each other from presidents' names and not the names of the city. It was a very confusing system, but I quickly adapted.  
  
"Princess Fiona is our president and ruler." I said, using honor in her name. I hated her new mate, but since they weren't married, I totally left him out.  
  
"Ah, your people recently defeated Prince Jon's men in a brief war. Well, not too recently, but you get the point." The man said, easing up on his formality when he recognized our power. "So, what is it I can do for you?"  
  
"I am not a political man, but maybe I could arrange an alliance between our two cities. I was not sent here to do this, I am only on vacation, but since I have stumbled upon your city, and we appear to be quite close, why not?" I said, leaving Misty's mouth hanging agape.  
  
"Your offer is most tempting, and frankly, I don't see a problem. But sadly, we are in no position to draw alliances. If you'll accept our offer to camp here, I'll set up an appointment with the president in the morning." The man said, standing up and going to a desk where he jotted a note to himself.  
  
"Sure, I'd be glad to camp here tonight." I said. The man then personally showed us to some guest quarters, and we settled down. They weren't palace quality, but they were fine.  
  
"I hope this will do. See you in the morning." The man said as he closed the door and left Misty and me in peace.  
  
"I thought you said no more work. I thought we were supposed to be going away from the city and reliving our past." Misty said as she sat down on the bed and turned her face away from me. I quickly saw what a mistake I had made and I tried to sit down beside her and hold her, but she wouldn't let me. I respected her wishes and moved over. I undressed, and changed into some sleeping clothes, and settled down into my side of the bed and let Misty do the same. She joined me in the bed and I tried once more.  
  
"Misty, please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag us into this. I know it was my fault and I got us into a mess without even thinking or consulting you, but I am genuinely sorry." I said as I looked Misty in her beautiful green eyes. She looked back at me for a while, and finally (much to my delight) gave me a small smile. I took that as forgiveness, and slowly planted a soft kiss on her forehead.  
  
"No Ash, I was being selfish. If this works out, the city would be much better off, and we still can do what we planned after this." Misty reassured me by saying. She then cuddled into me more, and we were finally happy again. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Misty. If you only knew how much." We then drifted off into a peaceful sleep. I was violently awakened in the night, by a loud explosion, and a shockwave to match. Misty and me both sprang out of bed and rushed outside to see what was the matter. Everywhere, soldiers ran to prepare for whatever it was, and we finally saw the commander run by as well. He spotted us, and ran to us.  
  
"They're here! You had better stay safe, young lady. Ash, if you don't mind, we need you." I agreed of course, and Misty and I both went back into our room. I put on my fighting clothes (never leave home without 'em) and stopped at the door.  
  
"Misty, don't worry, I swear this won't be more than tonight. If it lasts longer, I'll leave." She understood, and we shared a brief kiss before I ran out to meet the commander, and prepare for whatever it was. I found the commander and the rest of the soldiers waiting outside, looking at the northern forest.  
  
"It's our enemy," The commander started, "They're making more guerilla hits, and this time, we're ending their game." He ordered a small group of soldiers to charge the woods, and kill as many as they could. The opposition had a cannon and that's what caused the explosion.  
  
"I still haven't gotten your name." I said, as I readied to charge as well. He told me it was 'Carl' and that was that. Myself, along with another small group charged the woods too. Carl and his group was at our side. There weren't as many enemies as I'd thought, and they were mostly scared to death. I had a sword and shield provided by Carl, and that was what I used to kill ten men. I was as clean as greased lightning with the execution of my foes. As quick as anything the ten fell before me, and before I could get more, none were left.  
  
"That almost wasn't worth getting you out of bed. Sorry about that." Carl said, and I dismissed it with an 'it's okay'. I returned to my room just as if nothing had happened, and Misty was sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for me. When I entered the room, she jumped into my arms, and I met hers and we kissed forever.  
  
"You weren't gone but thirty minuets, and I still worried over you like I did." Misty said teasingly, looking at me with a smile. I quickly undressed, and told Misty of it all. After about another thirty minuets, we went back to bed. We fell asleep almost immediately, and before I knew it, it was morning. "Good morning, Ash." Misty said, bringing me out of my sleep easily.  
  
"Good morning, Misty. How'd you sleep?"  
  
"Great, aside from that little incident last night."  
  
"Yeah, that wasn't worth my trouble." We got up out of bed, and dressed, preparing for my big date with the president. Pretty soon, Carl came to the room and knocked. He informed us that the meeting would be shortly, so I'd better hurry and get dressed. A bit later, the three of us were outside the barracks, looking at the palace.  
  
"Misty, I think you'd better stay. I don't want any questions asked when they see you not being in any political standing." Carl said kindly, and Misty started to walk away.  
  
"Wait a minuet. Misty can come if she wants, and if the president doesn't like it, then too bad." I defended Misty, who upon hearing my words turned around again. So the three of us walked to the palace, and told the guards of our standing. They escorted us to the president's office, and he saw us immediately.  
  
"Greetings, I am President Jord. And you are?"  
  
"Mr. President, I believe you know me, Commander Carl, and this is Commander Ash, and Lead Biologist Misty. They are from Fiona's city." Upon hearing this, the president took on a look of study. He finally spoke  
  
"So Ash, Misty, what I it you want with us?"  
  
"Mr. President, I would appreciate it if you would consider an alliance with our cities. I was not sent here to ask you this, but I do believe it would be a good idea. I could arrange a meeting with my people's political branch if you wish." I said, looking the president in the eyes with as much seriousness that I could muster. I may not want to be in this, but if I am, I'll be in one-hundred percent.  
  
"Why, May I ask, would you want an alliance between our two cities?"  
  
"Well, sir, I think it would be for the best on both of our sides, due to the obvious strengths. Such as twice the military and so forth."  
  
"That is all very well for your military, but what about the other vital areas of operation. An alliance can not survive on mere military strength alone."  
  
"Yes sir, I agree. That is why I've informed you that I will try to get my political people to have a meeting with you."  
  
"Fine, but where do you propose this meeting be held?"  
  
"Well, sir I believe since it is me who is attempting to make an alliance, my people should come here."  
  
"Very well. I'll send a messenger to your city right away. You write a letter informing of your actions, and requesting them to meet here."  
  
"Yes, sir." I wrote the letter, and President Jord had it sent immediately. Man, I really hate this political stuff. Just give me a sword, and I'll show you politics my way. I bet all of you people reading this are scratching your head about the military situation, let me be your guide. The militaries of this land are just as modern as ours in the present, except for the weapons, and the lack of electric communication. The uniforms though are the same.  
  
"Come on Misty, I don't think we're needed any longer. Let's go." I said, as I took Misty's hand, and we left for wherever. I guessed the political people of Fiona's city would come, but I didn't care. Misty and I continued going in the same direction we planed on going, and soon we were out of the city. Not knowing where we were going, Misty and me just walked. Through nearly every terrain out there we traveled, until we found another cave. Settling down in the cave, we took off our backpacks, and rested on a rock.  
  
"Was this what you wanted?" I asked Misty, who had an odd smirk on her face.  
  
"Yeah, that was fun." Misty said in reply. We continued to sit, looking at the outside of the cave, and just relaxing in the cool wind. "Ash," Misty started, "Do you think that there's any way to get back to our own time?" That one was tossed in from nowhere.  
  
"Well, there has to be a way. And if you want to go back home, I'll dedicate all of my time to finding that way." I said, getting a smile from Misty. It seemed like we hadn't even thought the previous life we used to live, and to be totally candid, I didn't want to. The only thing back there was getting picked on by Gary, and Pokemon battles. Speaking of Pokemon, Pikachu and Togipi died a few years ago. No biggie any more. I was happy here as long as Misty was with me. And she said she felt the same way, so we were both content.  
  
"Well, I would like to go back and see how everything's changed." Misty said, looking at me with those eyes that she used to use when she wanted something. I could never refuse.  
  
"The only problem is, we don't know what to look for to get us back."  
  
"True, but we could find a way." She said again, smiling at me, and grabbing my hand. I thought hard, we'd come here through a black hole into somewhere, and it was in the sky. How could we ever reopen it? About that time, we heard a scream. A bloodcurdling scream sounded through the air, and it was coming from the hills to the north. Misty and I both ran off after whatever it was that screamed, and what we found shocked us even more. About fifty yards down the way, a young girl was cornered by a rock, and in front of her was a tall cloaked figure. I saw the situation, and quickly ran over to the attacker and delivered a strong kick to his ribcage. The man in the cloak cried out in pain, and vanished into thin air.  
  
"Thank you for saving me." The girl said as she walked up to me and kissed me on the cheek. "I'm Brea, who are you?"  
  
"I'm Ash, and this is my girlfriend Misty." Misty seemed glad that I emphasized the fact of her being my girl.  
  
"She's your girlfriend? Come on, you can do better." Brea said, smiling at me.  
  
"Are you saying that you are the 'better'?" Misty asked Brea. She was now switched into death mode.  
  
"Maybe, but Ash is still cute." Brea said, leaving me blushing. Misty and Brea then went into a heated argument, leaving me to think about that thing that was attacking Brea. How could it have disappeared into thin air? About that time, a stray rock from the girl's battle hit me in the head and knocked me down.  
  
"Ash!" They both said in union. Then it was a 'you did it' fight, and it was started all over again. Tired of fighting, the girls shut up, and sat down beside me. Jeez, now I know why Tenchi Masaki is tripped out all of the time.  
  
"Sorry Ash, that was immature of me." Misty said, snuggling down into my chest. Brea just looked on in longing.  
  
"I think I'll go home now." Brea said as she got up and started to walk off.  
  
"Wait, don't go." I said, motioning my hand for her to come sit back down. She complied, and sat back down.  
  
"Sorry for being so straightforward to you Ash, but I'm just not good at keeping my mouth shut." Brea said, apologizing where it wasn't necessary.  
  
"Don't worry about it. Now, who was that man that was attacking you?" I asked, getting down to business. At my question, Brea just looked down and said nothing. Misty then whispered in my ear that we should go back because it was getting dark.  
  
"Brea, where do you live?" I asked before I knew why.  
  
"In a cave a little off from here." She replied. I thought for a moment, and finally decided that it would be better to leave it at that. If I invited her to stay with us, Misty might start suspecting things, and I know that I'm not thinking in that way. Misty is mine, and I'm hers. Nothing's going to change that.  
  
"Well, so do we, and we're going to that cave. See you around." I said, a little rudely as a got up and left for the cave with Misty still clinging to me. Brea watched us walk off a little, before she too turned around and walked off to her cave.  
  
"Ash, what did you make of Brea. She seems innocent enough, but you can never tell." Misty warned me as we walked into our cave to spend the night.  
  
"Well, I don't know what to think really, but I'll giver her a chance to get off free if she wants to. If she takes it, fine, if she doesn't, then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." I said as I lied down to sleep. Misty joined me, and we cuddled up to prepare for the cold. In no time, we were drifted off.  
  
  
  
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Post Note: Nobody seems to like this story, but I'm gonna keep trying. A lot of things are going on, and a lot had changed since chapter two. Sorry for having such long chapters, I'm gonna stop doing that, and make them a bit shorter later. Well, if anybody reads this, please drop off reviews telling me how much you like or don't this story, and Keep it real, people! 


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